An explanation of sorts

I feel like I should offer an explanation of sorts. I’m sure some of you who are reading this are thinking, “the Peace Corps? Rachel? Really?” And to that I have to say this, give me a little bit of credit people! I like to think of myself as someone who puts a lot of thought into things before actually going ahead and doing them. And that is exactly what I did when I decided to do this.

While some of you (you know who you are) may think that this doesn’t sound like me and that this doesn’t sound like something I’m going to be able to do, you’re wrong. The Peace Corps is something that I have been thinking about doing since I was a junior in high school. I remember going on my first college tour and seeing a flyer for the Peace Corps. I thought to myself, “that sounds like something I would really like to do.” I started an application my senior year of college and did not finish it. It just wasn’t the right time for me. But now is.

I’m not naïve, I never said I thought that the next 27 months would be easy. But I sincerely believe that what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger. I’m sure that there will be some days when I want to quit and come home. I hope that those days will be few and far between. Perseverance and resilience are two qualities that I think will be most important in getting through those bad days. It will also be my friends and family back home that I will think of when I don’t think I can keep going any more. I know they will be supporting me, and that will be enough for me to make it through.