The Peace Corps??!?!?!!

So, as you can tell from the title, I have some exciting news--I'm applying to the Peace Corps!

Let's go on a trip down memory lane so that I can catch you up...

During my senior year at Western, I was an Event Planning Intern for an organization called the Downtown Bellingham Partnership (formerly the Downtown Renaissance Network). Afterward, I was offered a paid position as an independently contracted Even Coordinator. I worked through Spring Quarter, as well as the summer after graduation, planning the 2009 Bite of Bellingham, and assisting in events such as the Downtown Sounds Summer Concert Series. However, I did not have one clue what I was going to do when it was over. In the few weeks between the conclusion of my position, and the end of my lease, I decided to move to southern California to make a life closer to my extended family. I sold most of my belongings, packed the rest into three suitcases, and bought a one-way ticket. However, with a recipe of a 13% unemployment rate, and no real conclusion of what direction I wanted to go, I quickly became restless.

One day in September, my best and oldest friend told me that she had decided to move to Boston. Her brother went to school there, and she wanted me to come with. Also a recent college grad, I thought that she was crazy. We had talked about picking up and moving to San Francisco after college graduation since high school (in a purely platonic way, mother! sheesh.), but graduating in a recession had crushed that dream. I hadn't gone to school there, I had no contacts, I didn't have a job lined up....and I didn't know anything at all about Boston! But desperate times call for desperate measures. One month later, I bought a plane ticket, said goodbye to The Golden State, and headed for Bean Town.

After months of sleeping on an air mattress, and working in temp jobs at Emerson College and the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences for minimum wage, I landed an administrative job in the HIV/AIDS prevention research division at Fenway Health, the largest LGBT community health center in the country. It was my first grown-up, post graduation job. I made some great friends, moved into an apartment with an awesome roommate, and really got to know my way around the city (without any maps)! I did a lot of fun things from cooking my first Christmas dinner with Ashely, to taking weekend trips to Maine and NYC. Even with this great opportunity, I never really warmed to Boston. It never really felt like home to me. I believe that everything happens for a reason, and that my time in Boston helped me to build inner courage and learn a lot about myself. In the end, though, I decided to return to the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

Back to the present...

Depending on who you are (or how much time you spend creepily stalking me), you know that I have thought about applying to the Peace Corps for a few years now.But it was not until I spent a year of self discovery after graduation, that I truly felt ready to take on such a task. I know this is going to be a long process, complete with a strenuous application, medical screenings, a nerve-racking interview, and lots of waiting, but I am grabbing the bull by the horns. So far, I have made a lot of progress on my application. I still have to write my essays, inquire about the possibility of deferring my student loans, and and await my recommendation letters. I am confident that I can submit my application by October 1st, which is the priority deadline for July-December 2011 deployment.

I will use this blog to keep everyone posted on my progress, while offering tips along the way. Through all the ups and downs, I appreciate all of your support! :)