My whole life, my mind has always been quick to become
anxious or become full of stress.
More recently (the two years of my Peace Corps service in particular), I
have realized the effect this has had on my life and on my own personal health
and wellbeing. I have been trying
all that I can to find ways in which to find a sense of peace, especially in
those more high stress moments.
I used to think that in becoming anxious or stressed quickly
was in part, part of who I am. It
took a long time for me to realize that it was an unnecessary extra thing in my
life that has had a negative effect on my health.
I have been back from Ethiopia for almost four months
now. It has taken that long for me
to start finding a sense of peace with where I am at in life. The time in addition to working part
time at Starbucks, exercising regularly (and trying to get into better shape),
spending time with friends and family, and just having time to myself have been
huge in helping me to readjust to life in the states.
After doing something like Peace Corps for two years and
coming back to America is a BIG deal.
Everyone copes and readjusts in their own way and it isn’t an easy thing
to do. My readjustment has relied
on me focusing on the present and the future (primarily the near future in
getting ready to go to nursing school in Nebraska in a couple months). In my case, it wouldn’t be good to
focus on the past because of how I ended my Peace Corps service. On that note, I have to say that my
experience as a whole was a good one in that I grew in so many ways and I have
found some of my best friends in the world. But I do have some bitter feelings towards the Peace Corps
organization (which I can go into a little bit more in another post).
It has been interesting to come back to America and realize
that despite all volunteers having to go through a readjustment period, it
looks so different for each of us.
We do it in different ways and it takes us all different amounts of
time. With that being said, although
I am much more adjusted than I was a few months ago, the adjustment is still a
work in progress. I am still
working on finding a sense of peace, but I am getting there.
