Post 116

This is it. The bittersweet end. I just created my new blog, First Drafts and will begin the process of stepping away from here - my first online home and the renewal of my writing after far too many silent years. I still have some feelings and insights to the whole Peace Corps experience, but as I move on I'd rather not dedicate the time to doing it just yet. Time, Young Jedi... time.

I've made a few friends with this thing and, I'm sure, turned many people off by it. I don't see the point of personal journals - the process of documenting your secrets so then you have the added stress of worrying about people finding the documentation. Instead, I've gone with the 'here it is if you want to read it approach' and some have, many haven't. If it's possible to both put all your cards on the table while also keeping them close to your chest, I think I've done just that. My heart, mind and experiences have been released, even if readers don't fully know the specifics. I think there's something to writing that makes it general enough that people relate to it, even if they don't relate to the details themselves. As humans, we share basic responses to life's events and it's so easy to get lost in particulars and highlight the differences. We've been programmed in many ways to see in the us-vs-them paradigm and 'them' only seems to get larger and larger.

I'd like to take a brief moment to thank the many people who've remained loyal readers and served as feedback givers. You've made this so easy to do, and so rewarding. I hope you continue to follow my random life events in the new blog. As my life starts to feel more and more like my own again, the need to write grows as well. Hopefully you think this is a good thing.

For any PCV or future PCV that finds this: feel free to contact me if you have questions. I'm not the biggest PC advocate, but I wouldn't take back the experience. I'd happily give you my honest assessment, which might contrast with all the "oh my god! it was so amazing!" reactions people seem to have. I think it was amazing... but, it is my experience and my opinion that with great joy comes great sorrow and with good thoughts comes great responsibility. I witnessed a lot of sorrow and not so much responsibility. But... I think that's not much different than most places I've been, so take it with a grain of salt.

On to my Chicago life...