SWEARING IN AS A VOLUNTEER TOMORROW!!

 I cannot help to feel  proud of all the current and past volunteers who have done the Peace Corps. Those two months have been challenging.  During the training, we have been held by the hand for everything like children. In a few days, I will be in my village and real life will start once the Peace Corps car drops me off. I feel like that is when I will know that this experience is about what I put into it. Although we are family and we are supposed to be there for each other, I am the only one serving my village. The pressure and the outcome of this experience rest on my shoulders.

 I feel a mixture of glee because I have accomplished a lot as a trainee and I am fearful of what is coming next. But, I realize today that I have taken huge leaps to broaden my horizon and to live my life without regrets. I think that a life without fully exploring your ALL is a life lived with doubts of what could have been. I think if I had to give an advice to someone, it would be never to give up on themselves because GOD (or the name of you most higher power) has not given up on them. We have sacrificed and climbed mountains and valleys to become Peace Corps volunteers. I am so honored to be among such great people.

I am excited that I will be officially a  volunteer tomorrow. I remember two months ago, I came in feeling disoriented and not really knowing how this was going to work out. In just two months, I have lived with a host family whom I have formed a close bond with, reached the intermediate mid level in a foreign language, connected with people whom if it had not been for the Peace Corps,  we probably would have not crossed paths.

Tomorrow is a day to count my blessings and celebrate. We have gone through two months of hard training, moved back and froth from the training center to our CBT sites. Some of us have gotten sick, at times, we got frustrated with each other and with the program. But, tomorrow is a day to celebrate our accomplishment. I am anticipating to see the Ambassador of Senegal and all the other important people who will attend tomorrow. I look back on the two months I have been here and I feel I have learned so much in a short period of time. I am excited to go to my community and scared because I do not know what to expect. I realize that I have to let go of my thoughts of what could happen once i arrive in my village, because when it's all said and done, sometimes in life you have to take a leap of faith and believe that you will make it no matter how many obstacles will be placed in your journey.


We have accomplished a lot as a group and I thank  all the volunteers who have paved the way for us because Peace Corps is truly the toughest job you will ever love. We made it and I hope we will continue to carry the Peace Corps legacy for years to come.



A man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.
                                                                                                         Andre Gide