Preparing for Service

The first thing you need to know about me is that I am a firm believer in Great Love. My parents have been happily married for 32 years, and are still head over heels for each other. My aunts and uncles and cousins are also wonderful examples of stable, beautiful relationships and marriages. I have grown up with the belief that love is the most powerful force in the world, there is someone out there who I was meant to find, and all of the adventures in my life will be better because we're together.

Well, I'm 22 years young, and I haven't found anyone. That doesn't bother me, and I've decided that I can stop searching, because I'm done waiting for someone to come along and take me on adventures. My life is my own adventure, and it's up to me to make the most of it.

One of my best friends, Holli, understands this about me. As soon as I told her that I got an interview for the Peace Corps, she said, "Ronnie. This could be your Great Love." And that statement has transformed my perspective. I knew then that I could take this opportunity, pour my heart into it, and that this experience and the country of Uganda could give so much to me in return. Give and take, the way love is supposed to be.

Love requires passion, especially in its beginning stages. One of the causes I am most passionate about is striving for access to quality education as a human right. In traveling to Uganda to promote literacy, I will be working for something that I truly care about. Passion.

Two years of my life is no small commitment. I'm sure I'll discover firsthand why Peace Corps is described as "The toughest job you'll ever love." I have already enthusiastically agreed to the Core Expectations for Service, one of which is "Serve where the Peace Corps asks you to go, under conditions of hardship if necessary." No one has ever claimed that love is easy.

I am ready and willing, overwhelmed with excitement about beginning this journey. Of course, I'm already reading as much as I can about Uganda and the lives of other Volunteers. I'm so grateful to finally be putting effort into the experience of a Great Love that will challenge me, inspire me, and be a part of my story forever.

As I continue to prepare for service, for leaving behind my family and friends and the only place I've ever lived, this quote has stuck with me: "You can have anything in life, if you will sacrifice everything else for it." -J.M. Barrie (author of Peter Pan)