the new depression

I'm reading about it and seeing it throughout my community. Businesses are shutting down, for-rent signs are popping up in store windows...though not a new phenomenon, it seems like a lot more of this is happening than usual. This is not the best time to be working for gratuity, although the amount of business cycling through restaurants is surprisingly high, all news considered. On the surface it doesn't look as though individuals are really being hit too hard...there's still a lot of shopping and spending and buying going on. People seem to be trying very hard to maintain their sense of normalcy and go about their lives without giving in to the reality of this economic situation. Wise, unwise, who knows. We'll find out.

I never doubted that I would be offered a spot in the Peace Corps. I feel as though I had a very strong application, relevant experiences and interests, as well as realistic and open-minded aspirations. Plus, the organization never had a reputation for being altogether too hard to join. If willing to stick it out through an arduous application process was the biggest hurdle to joining, then I could definitely do it.

It seems as though its competitive edge began to increase around the time that my original nomination date of October 08 had passed, but still I took my time for a while in this process. A little frustrated with the amount of roadblocks that had come up medically, I put off a few doctor's appointments and supplementary application materials for the duration of the summer in order to focus on other things in my life. The Peace Corps would always be there, it seemed, waiting for me patiently as I took my time getting things done.

My friend Stef, currently serving in Jamaica, informed me not long after her arrival this past July that the Peace Corps just stopped its long-standing practice of providing all volunteers with a subscription to Newsweek, something that the organization had been doing steadily since 1982. This was my first clue that things were changing. Articles about budget cuts and slashed positions began to surface regularly across the PC community. I stepped up my game in terms of getting things done, got in touch with many staff members in Washington, filled out a bunch of extra paperwork, had a second over-the-phone interview, and finally received my invitation more than a year and a half after I began the application process.

Now is not the easiest time to get invited to join the Peace Corps. The number of volunteer positions has been cut by 400 due to some massive budget cuts, and the number of people whose job prospects are dwindling--especially post college--is on the rise. These factors taken together make for a very competitive application process. At this point, I do not envy those who are waiting to find out if Peace Corps service is going to be in their future.

The Peace Corps application process is a game of patience and flexibility. It can be long, it can be repetitive, it can be invasive and offensive and frustrating. Sometimes you have to be willing to put big life plans on hold. You have to spend time and money to go through the process of being medically and dentally cleared. You have to wait and wait and wait to hear back from Placement Officers and medical staff, never really sure if what you've sent in will (finally) suffice.

I can't imagine going into this process with a decreased amount of confidence. There are very motivated, very dedicated, very prepared, and very qualified people--people like me--applying now who will either not be offered a volunteer position at all or be required to wait a long, long time before they are able to depart. Even knowing this, I feel good about myself and my position. The program to which I have been assigned seems like a perfect fit. The challenges that stand before me are huge and wonderful and I am ready to take them on.

I feel very at peace with the way things worked out for me. Yeah, this was a long time to wait...yes, having to live back at home with the fam after graduating from college is rough on the ego at times...but I got to spend a whole extra school year's worth of time with Rahel and my family and my hometown homies, I got to meet some great new people, I got to get more involved in my local community...I got to be here for my cousin's first baby...I had time to collect lots of music and to read lots of books and to expand my soul and my mind...I had time to get tangled up in the sort of drama that fires my spirit and defines key parts of my life, and I learned from it all.

It's very exciting to know that I'm going into the Peace Corps at a time when the organization needs to prove its strength in the face of everything that seems set to weaken it. I'm sure that magazine subscriptions and volunteer positions aren't the only things that have been cut--there are a lot of adjustments going on in Washington and in PC offices across the world that are disrupting routines and forcing flexibility. Maybe there will be housing shortages or changes in the living allowances per country. Maybe more volunteers will have roommates, stricter regulations about travel, less resources for training. I'm sure that recruiters and Placement Officers are looking even more thoroughly into an applicant's motivation...the coming wave of volunteers needs to be strong. There's a lot going on within the organization right now, and it needs to be held together so that it can get through these tough times .

Life does not follow the easiest course all of the time, and that's OK. It gives you a chance to change your expectations of what it all means, and to choose some pretty exciting battles to fight.