My senior year of high school was rapidly ending and my plans to go to a beautiful four year college in Boston was fading away faster than I imagined. I was totally devastated I couldn't attend college like most of my friends and hurt that the people around me were moving on and I would stay here, in the same town, with my parents doing the same thing. I was excited to finish high school, but not so excited for the future.
Graduation came and went, and summer time was in full bloom but my mind was still circling the same questions, "Am I ever going to move out of this town? Will I be here forever? What's my next move?"
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I was going through my day to day activities with a scared and less than hopeful attitude.
On August 8th, 2012, my life changed forever. Heading towards home just after seeing my friends, I got a phone call from a phone number I did not recognized, but I picked up anyways. And I am SO glad I did. A man whose name escapes me, called from AmeriCorps Corporation for National and Community Service and was calling me about an application that I had put in nine months ago. I couldn't believe I was getting the call, and after about 10 minutes of talking on the phone he said, "I am going to give you 24 hours to accept a position as an AmeriCorps member, if you choose to accept your program will start in Vinton, Iowa in on August 28th. Please give us a call back as soon as you've made your decision."
My mind was BLOWN. I was thinking to myself, "okay if I accept this, I leave in two and a half weeks for an adventure I am not certain of and to volunteer for 10 months on a team of random eleven people. If I do not go, what will I do here?" I had made my decision in less than five minutes, without hesitating, I called him back and accepted, from there he told me to start packing and he'll send me a list of all the things I will need to pack via email with instructions on flight info. I couldn't believe this was happening. In less than three weeks, I was going to be in Iowa, with a few hundred strangers, volunteering for my country. I needed to pinch myself.
I got home and bursted through the doors to tell my dad and step mom the good news! They were thrilled, and proud of me for excepting such a prestigious offer! I called my mom, my friends, and anyone I could think of to tell them the good news. I guess I was very proud of myself too.
The weeks flew by and the day had come, I was scared, nervous, anxious, worried, excited, happy, and feeling adventurous. I was leaving behind a lot of friends, family, and everything I knew, but I had a feeling that this was one of the best decisions I've ever made. The entire flight to Iowa, I was so thrilled to be apart of this corporation that I couldn't contain my happiness. I was speaking to a bunch of random people telling them what I was on my way to do. We landed and my ten month adventure had begun.
My decision to join AmeriCorps and continue to follow through with this for the entire ten months, no matter how stressful and nerve-wracking it was, was an amazing one. I had met people from all over the country, including my now boyfriend of almost four years! Moving away from my small town made me more excited about moving around, seeing new things, meeting new people, embracing new cultures and ways of life. I was just 18 years old, straight out of high school when I joined and decided to change my life.
Now, I am a 22-year-old, living in Miami, Florida with my boyfriend and really enjoying life. I work full-time and go to school as well. I live a busy life and I enjoy having all these new experiences that I know I would not have had would it not be for my decision to leave so early. I know that traveling and seeing new things isn't for everyone (that even sounds weird), but I can say that I still have a few friends I try to keep in touch with now and then and they haven't even left the state we grew up in for more than a day trip! I have friends who text me and say, "you're so lucky you left!" or "You made it out of here, thats incredible!" but its really not hard to do. With ambition and hard work, you can easily make it possible. My advise to anyone living in a small town, or even in a big city but has always had dreams of leaving and living/visiting some place new: DO IT! You won't regret it! If anything, you'll regret living and staying in the same place your whole life! I also understand that money is important in the factor of moving and going places, but I promise; if you are working and you really want some thing, you'll work until you get it, just as that is the case for anything in life. I feel well rounded, more cultured, and I've become a better person for seeing more of the country and not just living in one corner of the map forever. My plans are to travel the world, meet new people, and see different things and try new food! Miami is one of my stops on my long list, and I can't wait to see where my future takes me.
