Firstly, I started the process a full 18 months ago. So, this isn't a recent thing, just proximate and definite now. It was a long application and decision process.
I decided to apply for the Peace Corps in August 2013 after I'd finished working at a summer festival and was visiting family in Georgia before starting the first rehearsal process for the next season.
I applied:
- because I missed traveling (I haven't been out of the country in 5 years)
- Because I was looking for a change (before the wonderful whirlwind of stage management happened)
- Because I like teaching
- Because I missed speaking Spanish
- Because (believe it or not) I was desperate for some stability (freelance theater life is rough)
All through the process they tell you that nothing is definite and you go weeks or months without hearing anything, so I really didn't know if they were going to accept me, or when I'd get a definite answer.
I got my invitation at the end of May just before going into tech for the first of the two summer reps that I did at the end of last season (this is insanely early notice for someone who is leaving in February; typically they give you 4 months notice).
That week of my life included: preparing for tech, starting another rehearsal process, flying to Boston, renting a car for the first time, driving to Vermont, going to my Grandpa's funeral, telling my parents (and them telling the rest of my family) that I'd been invited to serve in the Peace Corps, driving from Vermont back to Boston, flying home, getting a phone call about a close friend passing away, and diving straight into tech for one process and continuing rehearsals for another. Basically, it was a week that felt like a month and once invited you only have seven days to accept your invitation.
I didn't know what I wanted. In the 8 months between when I applied and when I was invited so many things had changed and the thought of leaving the life I'd built was (and is) terrifying. I accepted my invitation on the 6th day.
I said yes to the Peace Corps because I couldn't imagine not taking the opportunity. Don't get me wrong, I'm scared. Constantly. I think much of this fear is that millennial "Fear Of Missing Out", but still. I question whether I'm making the right choice multiple times every day because I know it's going to be hard, but I also know that some of the things that have been the most worthwhile are the ones that scared me, so I'm going to jump off the cliff (my 11th grade English teacher would hate me for ending this with a cliche, but there it is).
