That Title Seems a Little Harsh
When deciding what to name the medium where I would relate all my experiences and stories during my Peace Corps training and service, it only seemed natural to name it based on how I am feeling right now. However, rest assured that It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time is not a portal for me to tell you about how I am afraid and worried about my time with the PC(although those feelings are very much present) , but rather it is just a place that I can write out my thoughts, and hopefully share them with you.
Where do we begin?
This adventure starts in July of 2016. I am a struggling college student, with no sense of direction. Six months prior I had failed two classes in the Computer Science department at UC Irvine, and was placed on academic probation. Five months prior, I had quit my job at a music store, and had no realistic sense of income. Four months prior, I decided to switch majors to English. I enjoyed literature, and I liked writing. It seemed like a natural fit. It seemed like a good idea at the time.
In the smack-dab middle of the summer I was afraid of what it meant to have a major in the humanities. "There is always a need for coders" was a safety-net that I banked on my entire time as a CS major. Even if I wasn't good at it, if I could get by, I could have a job. What sort of job would I have as an English major? Was I going to write the greatest novel of all time and become a millionaire? Probably not. The only reliable idea was to become a teacher, where and how were beyond me.
In the beginning of July I was asked to be a leader at a summer camp for high-school students through my church. They were heading up to a campsite by a lake with another church from here in Southern California. I agreed, and there amidst corralling children, and not getting enough sleep, I met a guy who also was an English Major at a different university. Through his conversation he expressed his interest to serve in the Peace Corps and although the idea seemed interesting, I had no desire to leave California, considering I enjoyed myself there. Regardless, the thought remained in my mind.
What changed?
Ultimately, loneliness became the impetus for me to decide to apply to the Peace Corps. The very next quarter after that summer was the fall quarter of my third year of college. In this quarter, people who I considered my friends were hanging out with each other, and not inviting me. I lived alone in an apartment off campus, and I essentially spent all my time by myself, watching movies, listening to music, and reading. I most definitely had character issues that probably were impeding me from spending time with my friends. There is no doubt in my mind that my loneliness was equally or even more-so my fault rather than my friends. Regardless, my enjoyment of California quickly faded, and I wanted nothing to do with it. In my time of loneliness I remembered the conversation about the Peace Corps I had in July, and in February of 2017 I began to investigate what it really meant to be a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV).
One of the core things that makes me me is my faith in God. My entire life I have been a Christian, and I continue to believe the same things now as an adult. As a Christian I believe that God orients my life and calls me to do things throughout my life. I firmly believe that God speaks to me personally. Not necessarily an audible voice, but rather an assurance that what I am doing is right, or a thought in my mind occurs that just seems right. You may not believe in the same things I do, but through this paradigm that I adhere to, whenever the Peace Corps came up in my thoughts I got those feelings of assurance.
I began deciding what country I would apply to work at for the Peace Corps. My father's family is Albanian, and I had an inkling to go to Albania as there is a Peace Corps operation there. However, there were no jobs posted for Albania, so the next possible option was Kosovo. In July of 2017 I applied to be a primary-secondary English educator in Kosovo starting in May 2018. It seemed like a good idea at the time.
The Namesake
In my senior year many things changed in my life. I had to take summer classes in order to finish school early, and instead of commuting I subleased from a friend and lived on campus. Quickly my roommate over the summer became a very close friend of mine. This was the beginning of a snowball effect into my new social life starting that summer. After moving onto campus for the rest of the school year, and spending time with my roommates, I realized that there was more of a presence of friendship in my life than I had previously understood there to be. However I persisted with my Peace Corps application process, waiting for any response.
In November 2017 I was interviewed and selected to become a trainee for the Peace Corps in Kosovo. I was excited that I had landed a job after I graduated, but the implications of me leaving had not dawned on me yet. It wasn't until things started changing in my life in the romantic sense. Over Christmas break I spent a lot of time talking to my friend Rachael when she was visiting her family in Malaysia. One thing led to another and we began dating when she got back. Around February of 2018 it dawned on me completely that I would be leaving. Leaving my friends, my family, and also my new girlfriend. I was devastated.
Something cool happened later that quarter. I realized that although my major in English was scary in the middle of my progress, it ended up working out in the end. It seemed that it was a good idea at the time, and it actually was.
God has a funny way of working in our lives. He will call us to do things a lot of times based on our view of life in specific times. While I was angry and disappointed with my surroundings he called me to do something that fit with my interests. I made the decision to join, and right now it seems scary, but I have found that when things seem to be good ideas, and I feel that they are the right thing to do, they usually are.
So It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time is not a morose title, but a hopeful one. I am excited to look back at my life in ten years and see how the good idea I thought I had actually was, and how God used it to benefit my life in him.
Where do we begin?
This adventure starts in July of 2016. I am a struggling college student, with no sense of direction. Six months prior I had failed two classes in the Computer Science department at UC Irvine, and was placed on academic probation. Five months prior, I had quit my job at a music store, and had no realistic sense of income. Four months prior, I decided to switch majors to English. I enjoyed literature, and I liked writing. It seemed like a natural fit. It seemed like a good idea at the time.
In the smack-dab middle of the summer I was afraid of what it meant to have a major in the humanities. "There is always a need for coders" was a safety-net that I banked on my entire time as a CS major. Even if I wasn't good at it, if I could get by, I could have a job. What sort of job would I have as an English major? Was I going to write the greatest novel of all time and become a millionaire? Probably not. The only reliable idea was to become a teacher, where and how were beyond me.
In the beginning of July I was asked to be a leader at a summer camp for high-school students through my church. They were heading up to a campsite by a lake with another church from here in Southern California. I agreed, and there amidst corralling children, and not getting enough sleep, I met a guy who also was an English Major at a different university. Through his conversation he expressed his interest to serve in the Peace Corps and although the idea seemed interesting, I had no desire to leave California, considering I enjoyed myself there. Regardless, the thought remained in my mind.
What changed?
Ultimately, loneliness became the impetus for me to decide to apply to the Peace Corps. The very next quarter after that summer was the fall quarter of my third year of college. In this quarter, people who I considered my friends were hanging out with each other, and not inviting me. I lived alone in an apartment off campus, and I essentially spent all my time by myself, watching movies, listening to music, and reading. I most definitely had character issues that probably were impeding me from spending time with my friends. There is no doubt in my mind that my loneliness was equally or even more-so my fault rather than my friends. Regardless, my enjoyment of California quickly faded, and I wanted nothing to do with it. In my time of loneliness I remembered the conversation about the Peace Corps I had in July, and in February of 2017 I began to investigate what it really meant to be a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV).
One of the core things that makes me me is my faith in God. My entire life I have been a Christian, and I continue to believe the same things now as an adult. As a Christian I believe that God orients my life and calls me to do things throughout my life. I firmly believe that God speaks to me personally. Not necessarily an audible voice, but rather an assurance that what I am doing is right, or a thought in my mind occurs that just seems right. You may not believe in the same things I do, but through this paradigm that I adhere to, whenever the Peace Corps came up in my thoughts I got those feelings of assurance.
I began deciding what country I would apply to work at for the Peace Corps. My father's family is Albanian, and I had an inkling to go to Albania as there is a Peace Corps operation there. However, there were no jobs posted for Albania, so the next possible option was Kosovo. In July of 2017 I applied to be a primary-secondary English educator in Kosovo starting in May 2018. It seemed like a good idea at the time.
The Namesake
In my senior year many things changed in my life. I had to take summer classes in order to finish school early, and instead of commuting I subleased from a friend and lived on campus. Quickly my roommate over the summer became a very close friend of mine. This was the beginning of a snowball effect into my new social life starting that summer. After moving onto campus for the rest of the school year, and spending time with my roommates, I realized that there was more of a presence of friendship in my life than I had previously understood there to be. However I persisted with my Peace Corps application process, waiting for any response.
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| Me and my Girlfriend Rachael |
Something cool happened later that quarter. I realized that although my major in English was scary in the middle of my progress, it ended up working out in the end. It seemed that it was a good idea at the time, and it actually was.
God has a funny way of working in our lives. He will call us to do things a lot of times based on our view of life in specific times. While I was angry and disappointed with my surroundings he called me to do something that fit with my interests. I made the decision to join, and right now it seems scary, but I have found that when things seem to be good ideas, and I feel that they are the right thing to do, they usually are.
So It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time is not a morose title, but a hopeful one. I am excited to look back at my life in ten years and see how the good idea I thought I had actually was, and how God used it to benefit my life in him.
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