Personal Essays

I'm happy to quickly report that all is well on the recommendation front. Everything was figured out, and 2/3 recommendations have been submitted. My 3rd recommendor has an above and beyond reason to be taking a while though. Totally okay with that!

When applying to the Peace Corps, at the very end you are smacked with "Please write 2 personal essays and upload them with your current resume." That's when you are all "well shit." I mean, who likes writing that kind of essay? I like writing, but not that kind, where I have to prove myself.  Anyway, I did it, I'm not sure how they are, but I liked them when I finished and submitted them.

Cultural Experience: Peace Corps Volunteers must be open to ideas and cultures different from their own and may need to modify their appearance or behavior appropriately.  Give an example of a significant experience that illustrates your ability to adapt in an unfamiliar environment.  Please highlight the skills you used and the perspectives you gained.  You may draw from experiences in your work, school, or community in the US or abroad.

At 9pm on October 14, 2007, I arrived at the Beijing, China airport. There I was, a girl knowing next to no Chinese stuck in an airport without any money. My ride finally arrived; she was beginning to learn English, and tried with all her might to tell me about the school, where I’d be living, and her background.

Forty-five minutes later, we arrived at the dormitory I would be staying at that required a 100-kuai deposit. I had no RMB with me since it had been too late to get it at the airport. I was told that I could stay there that night, but would have to find money in the morning to pay the man in order to get my key. After unpacking a few things, I went to bed early that night. The next morning, I woke up to a sudden, stark realization: I was in Beijing, yes, but where in Beijing was I. It was dark when I arrived the night before, I had been tired, and if the girl had told me where I was and where in relation to school it was, I had no memory of it (nevertheless any geographic idea).

Over a month later, I found myself in a taxi speaking to the driver on my way home—by now I considered Beijing home, and my hometown “back in Indiana.” With the rush hour traffic, we had an hour to talk and we spoke about school, shopping, families, and our countries. We started in Chinese, but at one point he began inserting English phrases to which I continued to respond to in Chinese. When we came to a word that we didn’t know, the driver and I would try to describe it in both languages until the other understood. In Beijing, it was said that if you could talk to a taxi driver, you knew you were truly making progress.

I began my six weeks in Beijing poor, lost, and unable to communicate. I ended my six weeks in Beijing knowing I had progressed to a level that allowed me to be confident in communicating with the locals. Six weeks in another country showed me that I had the ability to communicate in another language and in a culture with norms and values different from my own. I gained the ability to live and navigate in a foreign city. Living in Beijing for six short weeks proved to myself that I am a citizen, not only of the United States, but also a citizen of the world.

Motivation: 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 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.

I can tell you right now that I am not one who has a long record of work and volunteering experience. I come from a family where I was sheltered; I did not need to work, and never had to worry about my future. But with these privileges came an intense wonder of what else was out there. College was the first place I was truly exposed to a multicultural environment and able to venture into the world.

I studied Chinese History and International Studies in an attempt to find out more about the world, and in particular, East Asia. Through classes, I was able to travel abroad to learn about education and business systems of East Asia. Finally, I was able to scratch the surface of other cultures, but it did not stop there, it only created a travel bug and even more desire to spend time abroad. After graduation, I did just that: spent 6-weeks studying Chinese in Beijing, China.

Each time I traveled, I learned a little more about the peoples and cultures of the countries. Each time I traveled, I traveled for myself. My experiences in Asia were amazing, but each time I was undeniably separated from the local population. I was the foreigner, the student, the tourist, and the consumer. As satisfied as I was with my experiences, I left with the need to get to know people on a more personal level and become part of the wheels of the community. All my life, I was most interested in learning about anything around the world that was different and rich with character. Now, I want to give myself back to that world and make a difference no matter where, no matter how big or small.

The cultures of the world fascinate me, and I have only seen the beginning of what is out there. My career goal is to go back to school before entering the international study career field. I love the world I have discovered, and in the future, hope to bring that experience to students who have the same urge to see the world. The Peace Corps will bring me even more knowledge and experience of the world that I can pass to those students. I may not have a lot of volunteer experience, but I have all the heart and drive in the world to discover another culture while giving everything I can to the community. All that I have not done in the past gives me even more reason and desire to give and learn now.

So that's what I wrote. I hope it did me some good! I think I was thinking about these essays too much, putting too much emphasis on them, yada yada. I just hope they were okay.