"So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greather joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun." - Christopher McCandless
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Friday, October 5, 2007
Whyyyy
27 months..that’s such a long time!!!! Why would you do that, you’re not even getting paid!!! Why??!?!? These are some of the many questions I have faced since expressing my aspirations to volunteer in the Peace Corps. So, right now, I hope to quell all worries and anxieties with my explanation of why exactly I am doing this thing called the Peace Corps. With that….
How it started…
I don’t really know if I can give a date as to when my state of mind changed. After fall semester of freshman year, I believed I would be a Marketing major. This is why I transferred to the business school, to pursue the wonder which was being a Marketing major. I possessed, and still possess, the gift of creativity. Marketing would allow me to utilize this gift to its fullest extent right? Wellll, possibly it coud have, but this motivation soon turned to an interest in finance. I almost slipped into the accountancy profession (what a scare that would have been). So, I was set on finance. What would my finance major bring me after college? The big bucks of course and the rewards of being an investment banker. Yes, I know what you’re thinking. 100 hour weeks, countless hours in front of a computer screen, CAPM….How are these rewards? They aren’t the rewards, the money is, but can money trump all of these negatives? In my mind, it did not. I think this is where I really started to find out what I truly valued in life. These are indeed pretty profound thoughts here, but what would my blog be without profound thoughts.
So, I was really at a loss for where exactly I would be heading regarding a career path. I knew I liked finance, but not corporate finance. I knew I liked Spanish, which I have been taking since the 8th grade. So, I settled on International Finance. Maybe I did not have such a virtuous approach to international finance as I do now, but that is where my ambitions towards international finance began. My goal was to work at the World Bank and develop programs related to helping countries in Latin America. The only problem with this goal was that I lacked a capacity to speak Spanish fluently. The potential existed, but Spanish courses at GW only do so much for you (which is very little in fact).
I started to research study abroad opportunities and decided studying abroad in Sevilla was my best option, because it allowed me to graduate on time and provided me with a Spanish vocabulary of business terms. Studying abroad was definitely one of the biggest motivators of my decision to volunteer with the Peace Corps. I might not have gotten all the Spanish skills I have long sought after, but I got to meet people of many different cultures and see a whole lot. Studying abroad could have quite possibly been an eye opener. The variety of people types one meets while traveling is quite remarkable and rewarding. It really opened my mind. In addition, living with a Spanish family opened my mind too. I really value the intangibles of my experience abroad, not necessarily the course credit I received.
After Sevilla, I returned to the U.S. pretty satisfied and excited to begin an internship at XM Radio. In fact, the internship was exciting for awhile. I don’t think I’ll ever have the opportunity to work in the entertainment industry again. An experience is an experience and provides you with even more knowledge and outlook. Ironically, one day while sitting at this internship and “working”, I came across an article which spoke about how more and more college grads were joining organizations like Teach America and the Peace Corps. “Peace Corps?!?!?!”, I said. Pretty much the same reaction as I have received when talking to some people about it. I think everyone still has a 70’s Peace Corps image in their heads with just young kids rebelling against society and joining the Peace Corps. However, the PC has evolved greatly.
Why?!?!?!?!
Good question!!! There are so many different reasons and variables that went into this decision. Let’s start with the most important one my desire to help others. Although I don’t have much time to do it in college, over the last year or so I’ve come to realize just how lucky I’ve been growing up. Every opportunity hasn’t been handed to me, but the opportunity existed if I wanted to work for it. Many people do not have this opportunity, whether they are located in the United States or anywhere else in the world. I really would like to utilize my knowledge and experiences to help these people out. It’s something I’m very passionate about. Many of these people would like to work hard and achieve the things we have achieved but just aren’t able to. So, the PC allows me to perform this function. Other organizations perform this function as well, but not like the PC. I believe in the methodology of the PC. Many firms try to create and develop programs in developing countries but aren’t effective. The reason being, their employees come and stay in nice hotels and don’t really take the time to integrate and learn about the communities they are working for. PC volunteers live in their communities for 2 years!! They integrate and garner the respect of their peers in their communities. In this way PC volunteers are able to create and complete a project which lasts in their community even after they leave.
Wow, that was intense, but yes that is my main reason for joining. Another rather large reason is my love of learning about new cultures and meeting people from different cultures. As much as I hated eating jamon almost everyday in Spain or the dubbed TV shows or having to wear socks on the tile because if you didn’t it made you sick, I still loved the experience. PC allows me to experience a culture for a whole 2 years!!!. The thing I regret most about Sevilla was that I didn’t stay in Sevilla my whole time. So, I didn’t really get to speak the language as well as I would have liked to and still felt a little like an outsider when I left. This is my main priority going into the PC. To really integrate myself into the community. PC allows me to do this.
Other than that, there are certain logistics which are advantageous for me at this time in my life to join the PC. For example, I have no debt, no house, no real possessions, no obligations, no girlfriend (who wuda thought I would say that was a good thing), etc. etc. As you can see, there is nothing holding me back.
Ah I missed a big thing. This experience will correlate with my career as well. (I know, there are just so many good things right?!??!). I would like to pursue a career in international development. What better way to launch this career than by getting experience abroad, let alone 2 years!!
I think I’ve covered enough for now. If I need to make an addition I will. Contact me with questions or concerns.
How it started…
I don’t really know if I can give a date as to when my state of mind changed. After fall semester of freshman year, I believed I would be a Marketing major. This is why I transferred to the business school, to pursue the wonder which was being a Marketing major. I possessed, and still possess, the gift of creativity. Marketing would allow me to utilize this gift to its fullest extent right? Wellll, possibly it coud have, but this motivation soon turned to an interest in finance. I almost slipped into the accountancy profession (what a scare that would have been). So, I was set on finance. What would my finance major bring me after college? The big bucks of course and the rewards of being an investment banker. Yes, I know what you’re thinking. 100 hour weeks, countless hours in front of a computer screen, CAPM….How are these rewards? They aren’t the rewards, the money is, but can money trump all of these negatives? In my mind, it did not. I think this is where I really started to find out what I truly valued in life. These are indeed pretty profound thoughts here, but what would my blog be without profound thoughts.
So, I was really at a loss for where exactly I would be heading regarding a career path. I knew I liked finance, but not corporate finance. I knew I liked Spanish, which I have been taking since the 8th grade. So, I settled on International Finance. Maybe I did not have such a virtuous approach to international finance as I do now, but that is where my ambitions towards international finance began. My goal was to work at the World Bank and develop programs related to helping countries in Latin America. The only problem with this goal was that I lacked a capacity to speak Spanish fluently. The potential existed, but Spanish courses at GW only do so much for you (which is very little in fact).
I started to research study abroad opportunities and decided studying abroad in Sevilla was my best option, because it allowed me to graduate on time and provided me with a Spanish vocabulary of business terms. Studying abroad was definitely one of the biggest motivators of my decision to volunteer with the Peace Corps. I might not have gotten all the Spanish skills I have long sought after, but I got to meet people of many different cultures and see a whole lot. Studying abroad could have quite possibly been an eye opener. The variety of people types one meets while traveling is quite remarkable and rewarding. It really opened my mind. In addition, living with a Spanish family opened my mind too. I really value the intangibles of my experience abroad, not necessarily the course credit I received.
After Sevilla, I returned to the U.S. pretty satisfied and excited to begin an internship at XM Radio. In fact, the internship was exciting for awhile. I don’t think I’ll ever have the opportunity to work in the entertainment industry again. An experience is an experience and provides you with even more knowledge and outlook. Ironically, one day while sitting at this internship and “working”, I came across an article which spoke about how more and more college grads were joining organizations like Teach America and the Peace Corps. “Peace Corps?!?!?!”, I said. Pretty much the same reaction as I have received when talking to some people about it. I think everyone still has a 70’s Peace Corps image in their heads with just young kids rebelling against society and joining the Peace Corps. However, the PC has evolved greatly.
Why?!?!?!?!
Good question!!! There are so many different reasons and variables that went into this decision. Let’s start with the most important one my desire to help others. Although I don’t have much time to do it in college, over the last year or so I’ve come to realize just how lucky I’ve been growing up. Every opportunity hasn’t been handed to me, but the opportunity existed if I wanted to work for it. Many people do not have this opportunity, whether they are located in the United States or anywhere else in the world. I really would like to utilize my knowledge and experiences to help these people out. It’s something I’m very passionate about. Many of these people would like to work hard and achieve the things we have achieved but just aren’t able to. So, the PC allows me to perform this function. Other organizations perform this function as well, but not like the PC. I believe in the methodology of the PC. Many firms try to create and develop programs in developing countries but aren’t effective. The reason being, their employees come and stay in nice hotels and don’t really take the time to integrate and learn about the communities they are working for. PC volunteers live in their communities for 2 years!! They integrate and garner the respect of their peers in their communities. In this way PC volunteers are able to create and complete a project which lasts in their community even after they leave.
Wow, that was intense, but yes that is my main reason for joining. Another rather large reason is my love of learning about new cultures and meeting people from different cultures. As much as I hated eating jamon almost everyday in Spain or the dubbed TV shows or having to wear socks on the tile because if you didn’t it made you sick, I still loved the experience. PC allows me to experience a culture for a whole 2 years!!!. The thing I regret most about Sevilla was that I didn’t stay in Sevilla my whole time. So, I didn’t really get to speak the language as well as I would have liked to and still felt a little like an outsider when I left. This is my main priority going into the PC. To really integrate myself into the community. PC allows me to do this.
Other than that, there are certain logistics which are advantageous for me at this time in my life to join the PC. For example, I have no debt, no house, no real possessions, no obligations, no girlfriend (who wuda thought I would say that was a good thing), etc. etc. As you can see, there is nothing holding me back.
Ah I missed a big thing. This experience will correlate with my career as well. (I know, there are just so many good things right?!??!). I would like to pursue a career in international development. What better way to launch this career than by getting experience abroad, let alone 2 years!!
I think I’ve covered enough for now. If I need to make an addition I will. Contact me with questions or concerns.
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