Not a small decision

Second try....here we go. :)

As I mentioned in my previous posting, I am applying to the Peace Corps.
So, I'm going to do my best to describe the why, what & how of my decision here, which thankfully, most of you support!
So where to begin?

When I was a sophmore in college I started taking my Pscyhology classes. I remember this one guy in one of my study groups. Total Hippie. And I mean, TOTAL. I say that with respect, by the way. Anyways, he was fascinating. His ideas of how getting his psych degree was just leading him to more understanding of people & therefore the world, and how college was just a stepping stone to something greater. How he was going to change the world. And how would he do that? Peace Corps.
I was only 17(maybe 16 still) when I took that class. I wasn't naiive, but we all know that the journey through college opens our eyes to many different views & ideas, peoples & cultures. So that was the first time I heard about the Peace Corps. It intrigued me. I put in an interest form & read up on the Peace Corps.
But I had a different plan. It involved Doctorate degrees & big offices.
So I continued in school. My junior year I became a Substitute teacher. This had to be one of the scariest things I ever decided to do, but I'm so glad my friends and family MADE me do it!
Once I started teaching, my ideas started to change. Of course, as with any experience, this happens.
So, to paraphrase what could be a realllllly long story....I had thought that teaching was a means to an end. A way to get through college. A good job that paid well & looked much better on my resume than Starbucks did. Never did I think that I would love teaching. Never did I think that I would have major thoughts of changing my degree(which did not happen, by the way).
I fell in love with teaching.
Not only that, I fell in love with helping. With knowing that what I did today, could potentially better the world. With helping one child learn. With making a difference.
And then, I graduated college with a BA in Psychology.
What do you do then? I made a plan. And a backup plan. Plan A....go to grad school! Of course, this is the obvious plan. I've got my top graduate schools picked out, decided upon where I want to live etc. Plan B...Take a Year Off. Plan C...Combine. Take a year, then go to grad school.
I went with plan C. Sort of.
The first thing you have to do after deciding to take a year off? Figure out what to do with that year. I had a few ideas, teach in Las Vegas, travel, get a "real job" (By the way, what IS a real job?), but nothing was certain.
And then I spent a life changing summer on the East Coast. Somewhere between graduating in May & coming home from the summer camp I taught at in September, I made a small decision.

-If you are taking a year off, make it count.

Enter Peace Corps. The seed that was planted back in sophmore year started to grow. It took every small decision, every experience, every encounter to help me make this decision.

So I came home, did my research, & started my application to the Peace Corps.
What will I do? Where will I go? Will I be safe?? These are the questions I get asked by all of you these days. Lets see, after my interview I can safely say that I will most likely be teaching English. Seeing as I'm still in the application process, I can't say where I will go. But I do know that wherever it is, it'll be amazing & life changing. And as far as safety, I teach in a Clark County School District school everyday. Do you think I'm safe as it is??

Anyways, this is a huge decision, & a long process, but it's one I'm very excited about. I'm not a Peace Corps Volunteer YET, but I'm hopefully confident that I will be.
And, I know that I have your support. Which I will need very much if I do indeed get into the Peace Corps.

So, there it is. It's VERY brief and probably missing ALOT of important pieces. But, I felt like I should write it down :)
More to come (soon hopefully) on the Peace Corps status.
<3