Finding a Sense of Peace

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.