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Sunday, November 21, 2010

Motivational Statement for Peace Corps

I want to volunteer for the Peace Corps because it weaves together everything I have worked for and everything I want to be. With its mission of promoting peace in the world by sending its volunteers on wild adventures and asking them to stretch themselves to their limit in hopes of empowering others, the Peace Corps represents to me the ultimate quest of each human being and the ultimate professional, spiritual and personal goal of my life. After years of working to attain financial independence, reaching within to truly know myself, and discovering a great capacity to connect with others, I am now poised to expand and deepen this quest of empowerment. At this juncture in my life, all signs point me in one direction: the Peace Corps.

I want to build skills for connecting with people that transcend cultural and economic divides. In my pro bono work, I counseled and advocated for immigrants with employment and family law problems. I found immense fulfillment in using my analytical, problem solving and listening skills to lead clients through discrimination, discharge, wage denial, and custody and child support disputes. I want to use these skills as a Peace Corps volunteer to empower others by working within their circumstances to improve their situation. I believe this experience would broaden my perspective and enhance my ability upon my return to work in individual advocacy and universal policy change on behalf of women, minorities, employees and consumers.

I hunger for new personal and spiritual challenges. After a lifetime of journeying, I have been stationary for ten years. I have found strength and peace in belonging, but find that one’s sense of self can shrink and calcify if too closely tied to the place, people and work that have become familiar. It’s time to stretch and deepen my understanding of myself by shedding material possessions and learning what I can about what is really important in life from those who are simply struggling to survive. I want to rediscover that universal human spirit that transcends culture and economic circumstances and connects us all yet gives us each a unique purpose. I want to empty myself to find what it is I have to give.

I long for adventure. To discover new lands and to live immersed in a vastly different culture would be a thrill beyond all my imagining. It would give me rich and endless material for writing and photography, two of my other passions. To find a way to integrate who I am into a new world that has different ways of understanding itself would open my eyes to unforeseen wonders both within and without. I would find new ways of connecting with people and build new skills to make a real difference in people’s lives. Through all I have worked for, and all I have been given, I have been empowered. Now, it’s time for the ultimate adventure. It’s time to focus full-time on empowering others and in the process, transform my life.

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