Sidebar #90 - Things I'm Proud of from My Service

After writing about my shortcomings and potential regrets from service, here's the other side of the coin. I'm overall quite proud of my Peace Corps service, and these are some items that make me feel that way.

Making it the Full 27 months

Peace Corps isn’t easy. I never thought I’d be proud of simply surviving the full 27-month service, but I absolutely am. Out of the 34 volunteers in my cohort who got on the plane to Costa Rica, only 17 finished the entire two-year term. There were a variety of reasons why some of my peers had to leave early: medical issues, personal resignations, mental health, administratively separated, etc. However, I am proud of the resilience, determination, and responsibility I showed to make it the distance. It was important to me to serve out my term for my community, and I’m glad I did.


Safety and Security

Serving an urban site, there were some legitimate safety and security concerns. However, I was never the victim of any crime, and I’m proud of the steps I took to keep myself safe. Furthermore, sadly, there were a number of medical separations in my cohort. Besides a pair of bouts with E. Coli, I’m proud of myself for staying healthy throughout my service. Even running, the sidewalks and traffic are treacherous, but I was able to survive two years of running almost daily without any severe injury.


Growing into my service

Something I was skeptical of when first beginning my Peace Corps service was the 27-month timeline. Adjacent programs, such as the Fulbright, are only a year long. I thought that two years, although rewarding, may be unnecessarily long. I was wrong. Peace Corps is predicated on integrating into the community, and it legitimately took me a solid year to get adjusted to my community. There are still things today that throw me for a loop. However, without a shadow of a doubt, my second year at site was far more productive than my first. I attribute that to understanding work flows better, building relationships, and general comfortability in my role.


My Projects

I’m really proud of what I accomplished in the schools. I feel like I balanced priorities well between filling a stated need (PE class) and bringing fresh, new ideas (like my International Club or Running Club). My projects were almost exclusively based in the academic institutions, but I felt like I did my role well rather than trying to take on too much.

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