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Northern-California native, trying to do as much as I can in the time I have here.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Building Character

It has been a while since I have written because I feel like nothing has happened worth sharing. On the other hand, my daily life here is much different than that in the States and when I first arrived I would have written pages about the things I do everyday because they would seem foreign. Now that I have been here two months, everything that was once alien has become so normal that I am almost blind to it. Had I been walking down a street in California and found myself in a Dominican neighborhood, I would probably have pulled out my cell phone and called for the first possible transportation out of there. Some mornings, before the sounds of motorcycles or the music blaring from skyscraper-sized speakers of the local general store begins, I laugh because it hits me all at once that I am living life in a different culture. There are not many ways to experience a culture the way Peace Corps volunteers are able to. You not only get adequate training and integration through staying with host families all over the country for six months, but you also have the support of United States’ government and the country you serve in as well. What piece of mind I have knowing that the government supports and provides for me. The concept of you get what you give may not be true from a fiscal point in the United States but it certainly is in the Peace Corps.
My mind is dreaming big. Before I came I would get asked the question what do you plan on doing after the Peace Corps and I never had an answer because I knew that after two years I would have a much different perspective than what I had coming in. Now I see this as only the beginning. I do not want my adventures to ever stop and there is no point starting a career when learning new cultures and languages is something I would be earning money to do in the first place. While there may not always be jobs that will support my hunger to experience cultures, I think there will always be somewhere that could use my experience and heart for improving the life skills of children around the world. I am already starting to dream of where I can go and what I can do after I finish the Peace Corps. While I write that last sentence, I feel foolish because I have yet to even be sworn-in as a volunteer and have done nothing to improve the quality of life for youth in this country, but if people can be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for simply sharing a vision, it is only fair for me to share my vision with you. With the skills we learn here it is possible to live anywhere and become a valued member in the country of your choice. I am thankful to be part of an organization that seeks to empower Americans by giving them a global view. If we can teach citizens back home anything it is that we have the power to affect real change no matter who the president is, no matter who are parents are, or what neighborhood we grew up in. When it comes down to it, we are responsible for serving others, and we will fail if we wait for circumstances to permit us to do so. How many people chose not to participate in the government and make a change just because they dislike who the President was? How many people choose not to make a difference in their neighborhoods just because they have less than their neighbors? The world can not depend on those who "have" to be the majority of aid to those who "have-not" because those who "have" and those who "have-not" is a relative term that only exist when we focus on what is lacking and not what we are fortunate to have. You can never have too little to begin helping and serve your country. Too many times I heard people talk with passion about what they lacked instead of talking with passion about what they had. Too many times I saw people do nothing because they spent their days thinking about what they could not do instead of what they were able to do. What I am saying is do not wait for the circumstances to be just right because that time may never come or when it does it maybe too late. It is like saving money, the majority of people think they need financial stability before they can start saving. We need to live like we want to live regardless of our circumstances. If you see other people or our circumstances as a means of achieving what you want to do, you have not yet realized the power you already have. It starts with a thought; it is up to you to manifest them onto the world.
I have always believed these thoughts, but until know I feel as though I am actually living it. Here is some wise words from the great Dr. Suess!

The Waiting Place...
...for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a yes or a no
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.
Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake,
or a pot to boil, or a better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants,
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.
No!
That's not for you!

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