Why did I decide to join the Peace Corps? That is a very common questions, and one I
don’t even know how to answer, but here’s my best attempt.
The first time I applied to the Peace Corps, I wanted to see
the world, make a difference, and spend some more time of my life living
abroad. See, that time it was easy to
answer, but I was also 21, naïve, had no job prospects, a sad excuse of a GPA,
and the thought of entering the horribly recession hit job market with a degree
that was appropriately named a B.S. scared the crap out of me. Basically, I applied that time because I
wanted to spend a couple years doing something fun and exciting while putting
off the inevitable. I happened to be at
the study abroad fair seeing what was new in the world of international
studies, and I was told Peace Corps was a real thing that people like I
actually do. See, why couldn’t people
ask me “why did you decide to join the Peace Corps that time you didn’t
actually go?” The key part of that is: I
didn’t actually go. I got a great offer
into a Master’s program with what to date is the best job I’ve ever had, I had
an exciting relationship, and it was easier to not go than tell my Dad I was
going.
So that brings us to October 2010. But to get to October 2010, we must first
rewind to August. That exciting
relationship that I just knew was the one, and we were going to be together
forever …ya…that didn’t end so well. Boo
hoo, tears cried (well, I’m assuming I would have cried tears if I had normal
human emotions, but I had the equivalent emotional movement in my own terms), and
of course no regrets (I’d do it all again if I had the choice, minus folding on
certain arguments).
So a few weeks after the break-up, I was over it. Yup, I mourn quickly. I’m in my ‘thinking room’ where a surprising
number of my major life decisions have been made, and where I tend to go when I
need to think…the shower (see, there is no way I’ll be able to ET cause I’d
need a shower to come to such a decision).
The little cartoon light-bulb popped on over my head (thank you scuba for
all my flashlights being waterproof). I
think, “Hey, that Peace Corps thing sounded cool in undergrad, and I’m single
now, I should find Amy one of these days (Amy being both my PC recruiter and
one of the most amazing awesome people ever).
Well, in the way of the busy graduate student that spends all his waking
time in class, working, or in the lab, I didn’t exactly drop everything and
find Amy. Actually, I didn’t even email
her. BUT, someone on the other-side
thought I was onto something, so a few weeks later, I’m in the lab and think “Hey,
I like food, I should go get some.” (Yes, most of my thoughts start with the
word “hey.”) Well lucky for me, this
particular moment of hunger just so happened to coincide with the Study Abroad
fair, and once again I see the booth set up in some prime real estate with that
cool looking logo. I walk up and Amy
goes “Hey Nick, come around here and give me a hug!” How she remembered my name, let alone cared
about my existence enough to give me a hug is another one of the great
mysteries of the universe and another way Amy is awesome. (Wow, I am getting way off topic here.) Anyways, I talk to her about reapplying, and
then the process began.
So, bringing it back to the original topic, why I decided to
join the Peace Corps. I decided to join
the Peace Corps because that’s what my brain said I should do while standing in
the shower. Professionally, I could get
an awesome resume builder and live in Latin America where I could perfect my
Spanish (ya…plans change and you just gotta roll with it). Personally, I’d get to see the world and
spend more time living abroad. However,
if you want to know the deeper and ultimate reason, it was because I realized
that even if only once in my life, I knew I could do something truly amazing
and make a significant impact in other people’s lives. No matter what I do in the future, I can
always know that for one brief moment, I did the right thing, even when it wasn’t
the normal or easy thing to do.
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