Why I want to join the Peace Corps

Turning 18, graduating high school, starting college and all the firsts that come with it are overwhelming and exiting all at the same time. At the end of my first semester of my freshman year I was struggling with what I wanted to do and if I was in the right place. I had a feeling that I was supposed to be doing something more, I just didn't know what that was. While I was studying for finals I started googling and came across the Peace Corps. I had no clue what this organization even meant, apart from traveling all over the world. As I did more and more research I realized how much I think being a volunteer would benefit me. If you know me, you know that I'm shy and struggle with getting outside of my own comfort zone. I think joining the Peace Corps would help me do those things by completely immersing myself into another culture without anyone or anything familiar around me. So, after many conversations and breakdowns with my mom that week I decided to finish up school, and then try and work for the Peace Corps. That next semester I think the Peace Corps just became more of a fantasy for me than a reality. The reality of me actually being in the Peace Corps didn't feel like a real possibility until I traveled to Haiti that summer. I was unsure on what to expect at the beginning of this trip, and leaving for the airport was overwhelming and emotional. Walking off the plane that day was surreal and there are no words to explain what was going through my head. From trying to fill out the right paper work (when no one could understand us), to Grace doing the forms in the wrong pen and having to go back to the end of the line by herself, to one of the people I was with leaving their backpack in customs, to trying to find the right baggage claim. Leaving the airport, we all piled into an old ambulance and made our way to where we were staying. The car ride there was just as crazy as the first few minutes off the plane. Imagine driving in a packed, busy, city with no stop lights or stop signs. Going to Haiti was my first real experience outside of the U.S so I really had no clue what to expect. All in all, my trip to Haiti was the trip that made me realize the things that are important in life and that I could actually make my fantasy of being in the Peace Corps a reality. In Haiti, I got a chance to see pure happiness from people who had nothing and worked hard for what they did have. Below I'm going to attach a few of my favorite moments from this trip. Thanks for reading :)

#travel #thepeacecorps #haiti