The point of blogs is, undoubtedly, sharing information with other people. They may be used to keep in touch with people you know, or to share in formation with people you don't know. It's the idea of putting my life out there that's always given me the hebie-jebies. I'm of the opinion that if I'm going to put something out there, there's going to be a purpose behind it. Well, today I submitted my Peace Corps application, and the Peace Corps is just the kind of reason I need to sit down and share. If I am accepted this will allow me to do two things; 1) share my rapidly changing experiences with my family and friends, and 2) inform others who are thinking about going into the Peace Corps but know as little about it as I did when I first started out.

The application itself is one of the longest pieces of paperwork I have ever filled out including, but not limited to, my college resumes and SATs. The printout of the first part of my application (the non-medical part), including my two essays and resume, was twenty pages long. There are sections on everything from education, to work history, to volunteer experience, to your motivation for applying for the Peace Corps. It took me approximately a month to complete, including plenty of distractions. Despite how intimidating it was at first, each time I submitted a section I got more and more excited about the prospect of serving 27 months in a new place and culture with new people.

The second section (the medical section) was much easier. No essays this time. The medical section was just a series of yes and no check boxes asking fairly straight-forward questions. Most of the questions revolve around obvious issues like heart problems, cancer, and allergies. Obviously any and all of these could cause serious concern in a developing country. I am interested to know, however, what the potential problems would be for someone who previously had Lyme's disease.

I should be hearing from the Peace Corps again in a few days so I can access my online account. There's a long road before I'm even accepted to the Peace Corps, let alone placed, but I am excited to see what this new future holds.



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