Peace Corps, here I come!

I finally got my invitation to the Peace Corps! I started this journey almost a year ago when I first decided to apply for the Peace Corps. I was just about to graduate and start my student teaching. I knew when I was done I would want to start teaching. I have been dreaming about having my own classroom for quite awhile now. But I also knew that I would have the rest of my life to teach. I really wanted to do something different, something that would give back to the world in a way I couldn't do here. I had thought about the Peace Corps in the past and decided to really look into it. So I did some research and found that the Peace Corps is an incredible program that would allow me to serve others in a needing place. I will be able to share what I know and certainly learn and grow as a teacher. I finally finished my application at the end of last February and had my interview on April 1st (April fool's day, I know!). Things went well and I received my nomination for Central/South America Feb 2012 short after. But then I got cold feet. I started dating a boy who wasn't supportive of my decision to join the Peace Corps. I also began to question the length of time I would be gone. Twenty seven months is a long time, no matter how you look at it. So I told my regional recruiter, Elene, that I would have to decline at this time. (By the way, Elene is an amazing lady who has served twice. She inspired me so much and it's because of her that I had such a difficult time turning down the Peace Corps.) However, after I made that decision, I never felt quite right about it. I knew I was taking the easy road because I was scared of the unknown. I thought about it and discussed it with my family. I decided that I had made the wrong decision and wanted to continue my pursuit of the Peace Corps. (Needless to say, that boy broke up with me soon after.) I contacted Elene and she put me back on track. This summer I went to multiple doctor appointments and after lots shots and tests, finally finished my dental and medical paper work. I received my clearance for these soon after and began the waiting game again. When I hadn't heard anything from the Peace Corps for 6 weeks, I e-mailed them asking for an update. They e-mailed me back asking for some more information and after a few e-mails back and forth I received an e-mail saying to look for my invitation in the mail by the end of the week. Then this morning I heard a knock on the door and it was the UPS man handing over my future. I'm so excited to finally know where and when I'm going and now I can move forward and plan for this gigantic change in my life. I have so much to think about and research and pray about and I'm so excited, yet at the same time I'm terrified. This is a such a big chance for an amazing adventure, to grow and learn so much. I've never really challenged myself in such a way and I guess all I can do is give it my all and hope for the best.

Big news!!!

My peace corps account has been updated and they are finished with my medical! Which means I most likely passed! I'm just waiting now to hear more information. Hopefully I'll have things in the mail soon!

Goodness gracious

my sleep schedule is so off right now!

This summer has been immensely busy! I think since I can't sleep now may be a good time for an update :)

Camp Lotsafun: I was a camp counselor at a camp for people with special needs for a week. I was paired with a teenage boy with MR and ADHD. He certainly was a handful but I enjoyed every minute (even if I was pulling my hair out at certain times). It was a great experience and I'm so excited to go back for another round next week. I will be working with girls this time though, so we'll see how that goes!

Las Vegas: Holly P and Kyle went down to Vegas to stay at Kyle's dad's house for a while and invited me to go along. I have never really had the over 21 experience in Vegas before and it was quite fun, if not a bit crazy! Holly had been to Vegas recently and knew a really good place for sandwiches. They were delicious. And we shared a berry crepe after. And the house had a pool which we spent a large amount of time in. It was a very relaxing trip and I'm very grateful Holly and Kyle brought me along.

Elko/Jarbidge: After Vegas my brother Jake and I headed to Elko to hang out with our cousins. It was a fun trip and it was really good to see Heather (and her bunS in her oven! I say buns plural because Jake and I are betting on twins!) and Ashley. Then we drove the rest of the way up into Jarbidge where we met my dad and Tami. I gotta say, Jarbidge is one of my favorite places in the whole world. It is so secluded and just naturally beautiful. We went on quad rides everyday, which is another reason why I enjoy Jarbidge so much. I wish it weren't so far away, I'd love to get up there more often. There is rumor of going up to see my niece for her 1st birthday which is very close to Jarbidge so hopefully!

This summer has been a whirlwind of adventures. I have hardly worked this summer but I think I deserved a break after finally finishing college. As soon as I get back from camp next week I'll start subbing as much as possible and going back to being a responsible adult.

Peace Corps update: I got my dental clearance!!!!! Woot! They requested a few more things for my medical which I'm waiting on my doctor to get back to me but then that will hopefully be all taken care of as well! I still have about 6 months until my estimated departure time but I have a feeling that is going to fly by.

No more pencils, no more books! No more teacher's dirty looks!

I'm officially done with student teaching!!!!!!!! Woooohoooooo!

Holly P's family is in town and it's her sister's birthday so we are making dinner tonight. It smells delicious and I'm pretty excited. We have been working on getting everything ready for our hoedown party tomorrow all week. I still need boots and a hat so I should probably get on that. Tami dropped off some bales of hay just now and they are in the backyard. We are really pulling out all the stops with this one. We're gonna have some food, including pigs in a blanket and lots of drinks. I even popped a hole in a watermelon and stuck a bottle of vodka in it. It's been three days and it's almost empty, ha ha. Should be a lot of fun!

So I posted on facebook that I will be looking for a new place to live soon. A couple people responded, one of which was my cousin, Alisha. She just bought a house with her fiance and they said I could rent out the extra room. I think that this will probably be my best choice. I'm going to go check out their house and everything later this week. It's just exciting to have some options and maybe know what I'm going to be doing for the next six months.

I'm bent on learning the guitar. I borrowed one of my brother's and went and got it re-stringed. I've started playing around with some videos on youtube to learn a thing or two but I really want to take lessons. My brother Jake said he was interested too so when he gets back from Ireland in a week I'll have to bug him about it.

I leave you with this: Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway - Anon

Only two days of working out

and I feel like I've been run over by a truck. I didn't think I was in that bad of shape but boy was I wrong! Holly P's been pushing me and it's amazing. I just have no self-motivation (which I definitely need to work on) and I'm glad she's been getting me to get up and challenge myself. On the note of amazing roomies, Katie made me a period mix (watch No Strings Attached. Hilarious.) which includes:

• Waterfalls - TLC
• Red Rain - Peter Gabriel
• Red Tide - Neko Case
• Everybody Hurts - R.E.M.
• Muddy Water - Daniel Jenkins
• I Love You, Period - Dan Baird
• Sunday, Bloody Sunday - U2
• Even Flow - Pearl Jam
• Just a Girl - No Doubt
• Red, Red Wine - UB40
• Red, Red Rose - The Weepies
• Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis
• Time to Flow - D-Nice
• Here Comes the Flood - Peter Gabriel
• Here Comes the Rain Again - Eurythmics
• I've Got the World on a String - Frank Sinatra
• Why Does it Always Rain on Me - Travis
• Tide is High - Blondie

Needless to say, hil-freaking-arious. I really love my roommates. I'm sad that we only have about two more months together.

Speaking of moving out, I have no idea what I'm going to do with my life for the next 7 months. As of now I am scheduled to leave in February for the Peace Corps, which may or may not change, but if it were to change it would more likely be moved back than forward. Which means if I were to sign a lease somewhere I could only do a 6 month lease. I've contemplated moving back home but I'm not sure I could do that for 7 months. I'd like to find a place for 6 months and then after that I'll stay at home until I leave. However, I don't know where to live or what to do while I'm waiting to maybe leave for the Peace Corps. I could live in Reno and keep subbing and working at Jimmy Beans or I could live in Fallon and sub there. Living in Reno would be good because I could continue to work at Jimmy Beans and still hang out with all my friends all the time without making the trip. Living in Fallon would most likely be cheaper though and I would be closer to my family. Also, I would get paid more to sub in Fallon than Reno. I have applied to sub in Fallon already so even if I stay in Reno, I can always go down to Fallon for a bit to hang out and sub. What it really comes down to is how much money I want to spend on rent. I would prefer not to pay anything, but like I said that puts me in my dad's house and I'm not sure I want to do that for that long. I guess I'll just keep my eyes open for cheap places. I don't really want to live alone, however it's not very fair to ask someone to live with me when I can only commit to 6 months. Hmmm, well I guess I'll just have to stay open minded and see where life takes me.

As for a Peace Corps update, I am currently working on getting all of my medical and dental paperwork done. My goal is to have everything done and sent by the end of June. I just hope this works with my doctors. I have heard that it takes about 5 months for all of the medical paperwork to get processed so that puts me about about November when I might be receiving my final invitation (as long as everything goes smoothly, fingers crossed!). When I first started this whole process, the most difficult thing was deciding if I really did want to commit to it. Now that I have decided this is what I want to do, the hard this is just waiting. The reason I'm so flustered about what I am going to do with my life now is that I don't want to just be waiting around, wondering when my life will begin. I've been hearing from friends from school how they have gotten teaching jobs or are going to all sorts of interviews. I know that what I am doing is a big thing too and I'm very excited about it, it's just going to take a bit longer to get started and in the meanwhile I feel like I'm getting left behind. I'd like to find something that I can do that makes me happy and will keep me busy before I go off to the Peace Corps, rather than just sitting around waiting for it. I've taken a few steps towards this; I'm going to be a camp counselor for Camp Lotsafun again this summer and I've also applied to tutor ESL Adults as a volunteer. I have been thinking that volunteering for more things may be what I could do to make me feel more useful with my life. I might look into big brother big sister, or the adaptive recreation program. But first I need to decide where I'm going to live. Bleh. I wish I was better at making decisions. I stress so much but usually when I finally decide, I feel immensely better. When I was thinking about the Peace Corps, I initially decided not to do it. But I knew that I let others sway my decision and it just didn't feel right. When I finally made the decision for me, I felt much better.

I really should write more often. Just writing all this down and thinking through it is already making me feel better. Well, the weather is decent so I'm gonna go take advantage of it!

P.S. Only two more days of student teaching and then I'm done FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!

easily swayed by the prospect of love

I have been dating a boy. I thought I saw a future with this boy. I brought him to my dad's wedding this last weekend and sort of decided to let him 'sink or swim' as the saying goes. However, I also equipped him with a pair of cement shoes. All in all, he broke up with me Sunday and I can't hardly blame him.

However, I do have FANTASTIC news! I received my nomination today for the Peace Corps! My assignment is a primary teacher trainer in Central and South America. I would be leaving Feb 2012. Now that there is a date, however tentative it may be, it feels so much more real. This is really happening and I'm so excited! I truly am starting to believe that this is the right path for my life at this time.

Update time

So my interview for the Peace Corps was yesterday! It went really well and I'm quite excited. Now I wait for a nomination. It'll give me a broad idea of where I may be going. Could be anywhere! I need to brush up on my Spanish though because they may send me somewhere Spanish speaking since I've taken some classes. I'm also thinking of taking an ASL class this summer because they may need me for special ed and that would help a lot. I'll have to look into it! Elene, the lady who interviewed me, told me it could be 2012 by the time I actually go but she was also talking about me leaving in September or October. I guess I'll just have to be patient.

My student teaching is going well. I did my first week of my special ed internship and then they went off track so now I'm just subbing. I'll be glad when I'm completely done.

Health wise, I've been pretty bad. I've gone running but not as much as I should. I have been trying to eat a little better though! I really should get myself to the gym sometime, it's just so much easier to not go. Ha ha, well I'm still working on it.

Taking the good with the bad

Good: I have an interview with the peace corps on April 1st! I'm quite excited. I have been thinking and discussing peace corps and whether I want to go for it and now that I'm starting the process I feel that this really is what I want to do. I know that I'm gonna require a lot of patience the next couple of months as I go through the application process but it will be worth it in the end. And if I'm not chosen to serve in the peace corps, well that the fun of life, there's always something else to do.

Bad: Something that I'm really committed to and truly enjoy has been a cause of great stress in my life. I don't want to be burnt out but I totally am.

Good: I made delicious salmon dinner for the roomies tonight and invited over the neighbor. It was a lot of fun!

Good and bad: Tomorrow is my last day with my second graders. There has been a lot of stress from this placement for certain reasons so I'm relieved but I will also really miss those kids. Apparently they have a surprise for me tomorrow, which they actually haven't told me. They just keep saying, "we have a surprise for you on Friday!"

Health update: I'm not gonna weigh myself now cause I know it won't be good. But I'm going for a run now so that's good! :)

Sick and tired of being sick and tired

I am sick. Again. But this time I don't have bronchitis, I just threw up a lot. Fortunately I am feeling better today because tonight is the benefit concert.

Next week is my last week of student teaching in my first placement. It is very relieving but also sad. I'm gonna miss those kids. However, I'll be back to sub for them so they won't have too much time to miss me. I'm a little bit worried about my second placement. I'm so worn out from this first one, starting all over again seems a little overwhelming. Luckily, after my first week we go off track and I have three weeks to recoup. Four weeks actually counting spring break. But that also means I won't be done until June 17. Oh well, at least I can say I'm almost half way done!

So I have officially finished my Peace Corps application. Every thing is turned in and now I'm just waiting to be contacted. I was told I would hear something in 2-3 weeks. This process is a lengthy one and to be fully accepted and given a placement often takes 9-12 months. I've only taken the first step. But it was an important one; one that made me really think about if I wanted to commit to this. I started out pretty confident, then I started to worry about the length of time I would be gone (27 months), how much I would miss my friends and family. But then I began to think about all the benefits and how much I would gain from such an experience. I still not one hundred percent sure that I want to do this but I'm pretty close to it and like I said, I have 9-12 months to make up my mind.

So, I have decided that I want to get into better shape. However I am so bad at committing to working out consistently. I've decided if I write down my progress in a public place such as this blog (even though no one currently knows about it) I might feel more pressure to actually make progress. My main goals is to be healthy, however I would like to lose a little weight. My current weight (yes, I just weighed myself) is 162 lbs. I looked up what the healthy weight is for someone my age and height and it was 130-170. I am currently closer to the high and would rather be closer to the low. My goal is to be at 140 lbs by summer. So this gives me about 4 months to lose 22 lbs. We'll see if I can do it!

Well clearly I started a blog

Yes folks, you heard right. I'm starting a blog. I am at a crossroads in life and I wanna document it I guess. Or I just want somewhere to vent. We'll see. Any how, I really just wanted to make this tonight, not actually write anything. Sweet dreams y'all!