Only What I Want To Do

Over the past two years I have met with what is both a unique challenge and a unique opportunity. The truth about Peace Corps work is that we have to make it happen ourselves. Although we are supposed to work directly on what our community needs and wants, that doesn't mean that we are obligated to do anything that our community asks. We have the option of picking and choosing our work and projects. Which, when weighed against the fact that we pretty much have to pick our projects then do all the legwork to make them happen, means that we have complete oversight over our work.
So I have been doing only those things that I have wanted to do over the last two years. And if I did anything I didn't want to do, it was completely my fault and nobody else's. I can't think of a time in my life that I can say the same thing about. Before Peace Corps my life consisted almost entirely of school, and although I have a lot to say on that subject, the truth is that I was forever obligated to work on someone else's schedule and turn in projects, papers, and assignments at the whim of somebody else. And I am staring point blank into returning to the US and jumping into work. That means that I will be part of the "normal" working world where I am responsible for deadlines, goals and productivity. And while ideally the goals and efforts of my employer will line up with my own, that isn't always the case and everyone feels some pressure over their work.
So it is with a great appreciation, and a great deal of sorrow that I look back on this mythical experience I have had, in which I am free to do whatever I want, whenever I want with whomever I want and for the most part it is work. For example, one of the Peace Corps' three main goals is to promote cultural understanding on the part of host country nationals, so anytime I stop and talk to people in my town about how life is different here, then I am contributing to that goal. Or choosing not get involved with environment committees in the local schools and not to get involved in other activities like soliciting money to renovate a community center. I have had complete oversight over my time management, my community involvement, my project work, my image and almost every aspect of my life. And while it wasn't a complete change, nor exactly as I would want to lead my life in an ideal situation, it taught me a lot about myself and how I conduct my life.