What A Job…

    The Peace Corps now asks us how far we will go. They used to tell us that this is the hardest job we will ever love. I'm not a hundred percent sold on either of those statements. This job takes you, not as far as you choose to go, but as far as the Peace Corps decides to take you. What if I get to my site and think, I want more… this isn't as far as I can go. There are a couple of volunteers who I think this might be true for. One of them lives in a large city in a nice apartment, he has a steadier gig than I do, far more like a straight job than anything that I have going, but he also lives in a little slice of America. I have to ask myself if he thinks that he could've gone farther, gone without the flat-screen and the six satellite networks he has access to. I have to admit that I wouldn't turn down any of the amenities that he has, but if I were in his situation I would have to say that yes, I can go farther.

I wouldn't say that this is the hardest job that I've ever loved either. I loved tree-climbing which was physically and mentally much harder in certain ways. However, I will say that the Peace Corps is as hard as you make it. I, like any volunteer, could choose to do more. I could plan out my every waking moment and dedicate myself to studying, integrating, doing projects, and communicating Moroccan culture back home more than I currently am. Maybe Peace Corps needs a new motto.

    I think that "choose your challenge" fits pretty well. There aren't a whole lot of things that we actually have control over in the Peace Corps, but our level of challenge is one of them. For every volunteer there is a certain baseline, some of us struggle with language more than others do, some of us take issue with certain aspects of Moroccan culture, some of us have a hard time just being in site, but for all of us there is a baseline which constitutes to degree to which the Peace Corps is a challenge for us every day. For some of us, that is enough; there is no need to go looking for challenges. Given the circumstances, survival presents enough of a struggle. For others there is more wiggle room, these folks have the good fortune of being able to pursue ambitious projects and make lots of Moroccan friends. They get to choose their challenge.

    I personally feel that it's too early in my service to nominate myself for one category or the other despite the fact that I have a big project in the works and several others in the pipeline. I'm not where I need to be in terms of language yet, and I'm integrating more slowly than my sitemate is. On the other hand our sectors are different and they require a different relationship with our community. The truth of the matter is that everyone's service is unique, and you never know what will have a lasting impact and what won't. Every day is different as well, some days it's all that you can do to get out of bed and keep breathing. Some days you end up leading an impromptu sing-a-long about the virtues of recycling in your town square. The one thing that is always true is that you, and only you, choose what kind of day today will be.

So get up, strap on your boots and make your choice. What kind of day will today be? Tomorrow, you can only live with what you've done, and yesterday you couldn't have possibly seen what was going to happen today. Today is different. Today is the day you get to choose your challenge. Today is the day that you get to say yes when life asks if you are up to the task at hand. Today is the day that you get to say I need to take care of me. Today is the day you get to say I have the opportunity and means to make something happen, to make someone smile, to make a cake, or to make a dent in my bed. What is important is that you recognize that tomorrow doesn't exist yet and yesterday is gone forever, but today is yours and yours alone and it's your decision. So what's it gonna be ya'll? Make the call, because it's all on you.