Pilot

My Peace Corps journey begins at the end of my normal, Stateside life. In 40 days, I leave for Madagascar... In 40 days, I leave Texas. I leave for new adventure... I leave the familiar. I trade the known for the unknown, the comfortable for the challenging.

I am grieved to leave much... My community, my nephews, and cheeseburgers. I am relieved to leave some... Let's not specify those. But I
must leave all these things, at least temporarily, to grasp what's ahead of me. It's the march of time, the nature of travel.

It's impossible to leave all of my life behind. My home is not cut off by physical separation. But what I do leave behind will not be the same when I return. What I take with me will not be the same, either. Everything in this world is destined to change, whether I'm home or away. This experience in a land I've never been before will change me in a special way... A way I am still yet to discover.

I must go. It's burning in my blood to go. I am excited. I am eager. I am intimidated. I wouldn't want to go if I weren't intimidated. I do well as a small fish in a big pond. I thrive in rising to the challenge. I am confidently fearful.

It's only two years. Two years, three months in Madagascar. A drop in the bucket of time. But a drop that is concentrated with life, a defined, exceptional drop.

It's more than an adventure. It's an opportunity to get up and help somebody... to understand new things... to seek peace and pursue it. This adventure is marked with purpose and passion.

My normal life is ending... My Peace Corps life is almost here. Soon, I leave for new adventure.