How did I get here...

As simple as that question may seem, its answer is pretty complicated and I'm not exactly sure where to begin.  I guess a good start might be when I learned there was such a variety of full-time volunteering available.  That happened during an alternative spring break trip my sophomore year to Philadelphia.  The Sisters of Saint Joseph, who were hosting us at the time, sponsored a night of meet and greet with several full-time volunteers in the city.  That exposure made me want to do full-time volunteering myself for a little while once I graduated.  Ever since then, I just expected to spend at least a year volunteering, preferably abroad, before pursuing any kind of more stable and adult type life.  Senior year rolled around and I did my research and applied.  I was accepted shortly after graduation to the program I thought I was meant to do.  Unfortunately due to a poorly timed plane ticket, two weeks before I was to leave for that program they "let me go."  Great.  Suddenly I was scrambling to find a replacement program to help fill in the yawning unknown that was my future.  It was a pretty upsetting time.  I was dealing with rejection, a bit of an identity crisis, the enormity of the rest of my life before me, etc.  And in the midst of all that I found NPH.  I fell in love with the organization right away, but tried very hard not to get my hopes up.  After suffering such a huge disappointment, I tried not to put too much faith into anything to keep from being disappointed again, but honestly I  couldn't help myself.  I went through their application and interview process and was ultimately offered a position at their Mexico home as a caregiver.  After eagerly accepting, I've spent the last couple of months getting ready and now I leave in less than two weeks!  I'm so excited and terrified at the same time, but I truly believe I've found the right place for me and look forward to becoming a small part of a truly amazing organization.  But more about that in my next post!

P.S. Merry Christmas!  A little late, but heartfelt nonetheless.

Welcome!

Hello everyone!  I decided to keep a blog during my year abroad in an effort to stay in touch with as many of you wonderful people as possible with as much detail as demanded without constantly overloading my email and repeating myself.  So the blog is born.  No guarantees on how often I will update, I anticipate being kept quite busy, but I will try to type as often as possible, as grammatically-correct as possible, and as entertainingly as possible.  (I think I'm already breaking a few of those guidelines. ;-)  So I hope you enjoy!  Feel free to comment on any posts or photos you find especially interesting, ask any particularly plaguing questions, or email me for a more personal response.  It's going to be a year full of change and challenge and I'm excited you've decided to come along for the ride!