More Mail...

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." -Ghandi...I bought a ring today with this quote engraved around it. This is the first ring that I've worn in a long time but I couldn't pass up the deal or the inspirational quote. I think this might become my mantra for when I'm feeling a little down and out about my journey with Peace Corps. I hope that this will ring (pun intended) true in my life as I serve others for my country. I want to spread a message of love and peace, to break down cultural barriers, to open myself and others up to the ideas of being different yet the same, and to show that we are all one big family. I'm not quite sure how I can be the change in the world, but I hope to be the change in someone's world. I'm not out to conquer or win over the whole world, but if I can influence one life (or two including my own because undoubtedly this will change me too) then I have been the change I wanted to see in the world. It doesn't take much, a smile often times can make someone's day better. A hug! A compliment! Listening ears! These can all change the course of someone's day and possibly their life. And it doesn't take much on our end, just a little less about you and a little more about others. But if you can do more, do more. If you can volunteer 2 yrs of your life or 2 hrs of your week, then take the time to invest in somebody else's life. What will you have lost? What will you have gained?

Moving on to a slightly different tangent...Today in the mail I finally received my 'official' tentative nomination for Peace Corps along with a book called "a life inspired". This is a collection of stories from Peace Corps volunteers throughout the years. A few of the stories I've already read online and am looking forward to reading others. The more I read about it the more excited I am to live my own experience in another culture with a foreign people. The more papers I get in the mail from them the more emotional I get about this journey I am going to embark on. However, the more I hear from Peace Corps the more I hear from Americorps. I mean, come on now, you could've snagged me a long time ago but you dragged butt getting things done and didn't keep me posted about progress. I've received phone call after phone call, email after email, etc in this past week. They all have conflicting messages for me and I just don't know what to say other than: You go Peace Corps for bringing your A-game to the court, you made my decision so much more easy. Thank you.

Now, that's not to say that Americorps is horrible or bad or doesn't do anything for our country. In fact they do such great and wonderful things for our nation. However, my application experience with them was sub-par. If I was not already headed in the direction of Peace Corps, I would gladly accept my position with a team in Iowa serving my country. I choose for now to serve my country in another country.

This post is having a lot to do with what came in the mail today. I had a lot of large sized packages today, from Peace Corps and Americorps. I got a reminder in the mail that I have a dentist appointment on Monday, yay. Then I got my pay stub, another yay. And lastly, but definitely not leastly or less importantly...I got my package from Canada! Now, who on earth gets excited about a package from Canada?! No, it's not Winter Olympics paraphernalia. It's better! I got my DivaCup. This little thing-a-ma-bob is about to change my life forever. Well maybe not my whole life, but it will definitely change that particular female habit of mine forever. :)

All in all, the mail today has been extraordinarily informative, useful, useless and entertaining. I look forward to more mail in the future, especially those envelopes with Peace Corps stamped on the bottom.