ha! that's it?

So, I'm working on my Peace Corps application this morning, & this is what I came across for my essay topics:

1)Cross-cultural Experience

Peace Corps Volunteers must be open to ideas and cultures different from their own and may need to modify their appearance or behavior appropriately. Give an example (between 250-500 words) of a significant experience that illustrates your ability to adapt in an unfamiliar environment. Please highlight the skills you used and the perspectives you gained. You may draw from experiences in your work, school, or community in the U.S. or abroad. Please list the date(s) of your experience.

2)Motivation Statement

Peace Corps service presents major physical, emotional, and intellectual challenges. You have provided information on how you qualify for Peace Corps service elsewhere in the application. In the space below, please provide a statement (between 250-500 words) that includes:

1) Your reasons for wanting to serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer; and
2) How these reasons are related to your past experiences and life goals.


I laugh in the face of such short essays! The hard part will be condensing all I have to say to 250-500 words. I tend to be longwinded sometimes. Verbose, one might say. But that totally made my day. I'm taking the prompts w/ me to work today so I can rhuminate on them, & I'll try to knock one out each morning before work. (I'm leaving the work experience section for last. Why do they always make you type everything up individually, AND upload a resume, where you have the exact same information? *rolls eyes*)

much ado about nothing

So I've been freaking out this week, trying to imagine my father's reaction to the news that I'm going to apply to the Peace Corps. & honestly, it was almost a let-down. He was so okay w/ it, that it's unnerving. He asked questions, I answered. Mom started crying. He asked more questions, I answered. The jist? He thinks it's a good & noble cause, & that's pretty much it. *is blown away*

I can't even tell you what kind of a relief this is. I thought that he'd be mad that I'm still not ready to go to graduate school, but as it turns out, he just laughed & said, "well, Mom & Dad wanted me to go to school & I didn't. So..." & then he raised his eyebrows, kind of like *well, that's what happens... kids follow in your footsteps.* I feel so warm & happy that I have their support. Gah. Now I'm crying, too. The simple fact that I have a chance at the kind of life I want, not just the kind of work I want... it's too much for me. In this bleak winter that's sucking the soul out of me... I needed this hope so badly. & now I have it.

ponder this:

Peace Corps.