Important Considerations Before Entering the Peace Corps

I've read a lot of content on the Peace Corps experience, what it's like to be a volunteer and what it feels like to return to the States. This hindsight information is helpful, but also disconnected from the original feelings felt before departure. I am preparing over the next six months to serve in Africa for twenty-seven months (exact country yet to be determined). The responses I get from other people are both encouraging and discouraging. I'd like to offer advice to anyone interested in joining the Peace Corps from the perspective of someone who has been accepted, but has not yet departed.

Getting accepted to the Peace Corps is no easy feat. Anyone thinking of applying should brace themselves for months of paperwork, interviews and expensive medical exams (especially if you are one of the many in this country with no healthcare). But those are tangible achievements. You can assess the result of these tasks. When your medical forms are done, you can check to see that they are done. When you are scheduled for an interview, you go to your interview. But, what about all the non-tangibles? By this I mean the mental preparation and the "everybody knows better than you" attitude you'll get from everyone who hears you utter the words, "Peace Corps."

Let's start with the naysayers. When deciding to join the Peace Corps, you are going to get a wealth of criticism. In some cases it will be from close friends and family, and in other cases it will be from more vague acquaintances and even strangers. The Peace Corps is a government-funded organization; so many people who are anti-the current administration may equate the two. Although the Peace Corps gets government money, it is not politically aligned with the administration in office at the time of your service. You are not expected to serve abroad as a spokesperson for your current administration. You are expected, however, to act as an ambassador to your country. This means that you control the image of America that your host country will receive.

Other criticism will be more practical. The Peace Corps is not a place to get rich, and student loans don't vanish (although they can be deferred during your time of service). Also, you must consider the idea of living in a culture unlike your own, sharing a home with insects and speaking a new language are all a part of the service. Loneliness, boredom and feelings of inadequacy are all words that ring familiar with many returned volunteers.

As someone who has not yet served, but is about to, I must say dealing with the naysayers is no easy achievement. People, who already served their time, will usually tell you that the experience is well worth the negatives and you should just do it. As someone on the brink of leaving, I would say that those words are not enough to keep me motivated. Joining the Peace Corps, or any long term service abroad, is a personal choice that you need to come to terms with independently of someone else's experience. What if I serve my two years and find that it was not worth it? That is a reality that I need to come to grips with as well. My advice to someone who is thinking of applying would be to really do some soul searching, praying or whatever you normally do to make a big decision.

The Peace Corps is a long-term commitment. I've traveled all over the world, including Africa, but never for longer than a few weeks, tops. Although it is possible to quit the Peace Corps, you should note that that leaves a psychological impact on you as well. Think of things in your life that you quite, because they were too hard. In that moment, quitting is all you could think about, but suddenly, when you are out of the "bad" situation and in the comforts of home, the negatives tend to not seem so bad. Quitting the Peace Corps may feel right at the moment, but once you are Stateside again, you might experience feeling of failure.

Just remember that nobody knows you better than you, and everyone likes to give advice. Don't ignore the naysayers' advice, because certainly it is worth consideration, but ultimately you need to make the choice.

On the contrary to the naysayers, you will come across many people who hear that you are going to the Peace Corps, and they will go on and on about how great you are for doing it. They will go on and on about what an amazing experience it will be (even if they themselves have never served in the Peace Corps). These yay-sayers can be just as detrimental as the naysayers.

Over the past few months I've been the recipient of both criticism and praise for my decision to serve in Africa. While it's always better to hear positives than negative, they can put a lot of pressure on you. Many people believe in me and have faith that if anyone can handle two years in Africa, it would be me. I am a very mentally strong and confident woman, but I certainly have my moments of weakness, mostly when it comes to my health and physical aspects. I can be quite a baby! If I went to Africa, and for whatever reason did not complete my service, the burden of failure would be much stronger now that I was showered with praise. The feeling of letting other's down weighs in for sure. Even though logically speaking, none of my yay-sayers have done the Peace Corps, and theoretically have no real reason to think of me as a failure, in the mind, the idea can still be there if you are not mentally secure in your decisions.

I am not suggesting that all this praise is bad, but as a future volunteer, you cannot take it as the end-all-be-all. Everyone has limits, physically and mentally and there is no shame in realizing those limits. In my opinion, if I quit the Peace Corps, because my limits were stretched beyond a reasonable means, I would not feel like a failure. However, if I quit during my service, and deep down I knew that my limits were not met or stretched slightly then I would feel worse. As I sit here in the United States, I have no way of knowing my true limits in a rural African village. But when I am in that African village, I need to really examine myself, why I chose to serve and what problems, if any, do I really have. What seems like a monumental crisis in Africa might seem silly once you are whisked home to the US, and sitting in front of the tv.

So now, I challenge all potential volunteers who have not yet served to take the above thoughts in consideration as well as the thoughts from returned volunteers. Remember that once you go to the Peace Corps, all the thoughts you have at this moment in time become bias and tainted with your experience in service. Sometimes it helps to bounce ideas and fears and excitement off of someone actually in your shoes. And lastly, I challenge those who know someone joining the Peace Corps to weigh your responses to them. Putting too much faith in, or not enough faith in someone can fill their head with unreal expectations, fears and emotions. Try to be supportive, even if it is not in your best interest for them to join. If it's a friend, then of course you will miss them, but that is a big burden to put on someone who feels convicted enough to devote twenty-seven months of their life serving fellow human beings. If you feel there is a real legitimate reason for someone to join/not to join, then express that concern as a fact, not as a raging emotion.

Best of luck to all future volunteers in the Peace Corps or through any source. See you on the flip side!