Motivation Statement

As I'm sure most, hopefully all, of you know by now I'm moving to Paraguay at the beginning of February to serve as a Peace Corps volunteer. Almost every time I tell someone, whether its a friend, a relative, or a rando, I'm joining the Peace Corps, I get the same response; "Why would you want to do that?" Or some similar version of the same question.  So to begin this blog, I'm publishing my "Motivation Statement," the statement I included with my Peace Corps application describing why I was interested in becoming a volunteer.  When I first re-read this a couple minutes ago I was not impressed with my writing, or my excessive use of contractions in an essay, but I'm publishing it without changes regardless.  Oh yeah...Here's the original prompt in case you were wondering why I chose to address certain things...  
          

"Peace Corps service presents major physical, emotional, and intellectual challenges. You have provided information on how you qualify for Peace Corps service elsewhere in the application. In the space below, please provide a statement (between 250-500 words) that includes:

1) Your reasons for wanting to serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer; and
2) How these reasons are related to your past experiences and life goals.

            Many people would consider me a dreamer; I’m always coming up with new crazy ideas of what I’m going to do next; however, I take it a step further and consider myself an achiever.  When I set my mind to something, I do everything in my power to achieve my goals.  I know that, if selected as a volunteer, I will not get discouraged easily, I will not quit and, although I may get frustrated, I will put forward my best effort to perform any and all duties asked of me.

            Prior to my freshman year at Notre Dame, I had no intention of joining the Peace Corps, mainly because I hadn’t even heard about the Peace Corps until I was in college.  Freshman year, one of my friends planted the idea of becoming a Peace Corps volunteer in my mind, and I have slowly become obsessed with making this a reality.  In preparing I’ve done my research, I have read testimonials from previous volunteers, attended an informational meeting and talked with a previous volunteer to get more insight.  The more I learn about the Peace Corps, the more excited I get about possibly becoming a volunteer.

            To be honest, what first sparked my interest in the Peace Corps was the unknown; a new environment, a new language, a new culture, new friends, new family, new challenges and new adventure.  I don’t know what my formal job responsibilities will be, but I do know that the people and culture I am immersed in will impact me just as greatly as I impact them, and this excites me.

            I believe the Peace Corps is a great opportunity for anyone regardless of past and future experiences.  I look at life as a learning experience; everything I do and everyone I encounter help shape me as a person.  The Peace Corps will challenge me by placing me in a foreign country, immersed in an unknown culture and surrounded by unfamiliar, at least initially, faces.  I can’t predict in what ways my service will impact me, but I believe that I will leave the country a new and improved version of me. I’m planning on attending medical school following my service, and I feel the Peace Corps will help make me a better doctor simply by exposing me to a new environment and forcing me to learn more about my surroundings and myself.

            And last, but certainly not least, I want a pet monkey, and I believe that serving as a Peace Corps volunteer will increase my chances of befriending a monkey, I don’t know why.