Six Word Memoir

Yesterday, March 20^th, was exactly 2 months into my COS (close of service) and when my time as a Peace Corps volunteer will end and a new chapter starts. Though there were some extremely long days, it is incredible to me how quickly time passes and how comfortable I’ve become in my Tico and Peace Corps community.

A few weeks ago the group of volunteers that I came in with and I (my group is called Tico 20) had a COS conference. It was wonderful to get together with the people who have become my family and support here and hang out. We bonded over having to collect 3 days in a row stool samples (you don’t want to take unwanted guests, i.e. parasites, back to the US) and our fear of facing health insurance expenses.

Within Tico 20 I am part of CED (Community Economic Development) and we put on a skit that used the Oscars as the way to give out ‘awards’. We put together this video as an advertisement in the middle of our presentation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djlATPdQUpA

To end the conference we all had to write a 6 word memoir that expressed what our time with Peace Corps had meant for us. I wish I remembered all of them since they were very good. One was ‘win some, lose some, drink coffee’ or ‘two years pooping in the kitchen’ (since this person’s host family’s house was designed with the bathroom in the middle of the house, with no ceiling).

My six word memoir was/is: Embracing Life by Breaking Self-Imposed Boxes. Before coming to Peace Corps I never saw myself as the type of person that would go to Peace Corps, yet I have done it. Same with the marathon I ran right before coming to Costa Rica: I’ve never been a runner and I had never run a race but that doesn’t mean that I cannot do it. So I’m so thankful that I continue to learn that I am the first one to put myself in boxes and try to tell myself what I cannot do and that I have the power to break out of those artificial limitations that I try to put on myself.