Creer En Ti Mismo

It takes a lot to make that first step. In whatever direction you head in life there are always barriers of fear that you must overcome before your journey begins. Although this may not be true for all, it is reality for some! What does it take to overcome your fears? "Believing in yourself!"

Before applying to Peace Corps I ran into many traps that I thought were preventing me from reaching the next step, just advancing in life in general. In my opinion one of my greatest successes was being admitted to Dental School after college. I studied non stop for a year, but it was not enough to continue. I was released from Dental School as I stood in silence and watched my dreams and everything I worked for in college crumble in front of me. It took a lot of courage and motivation from friends, family, and the girl I was dating at the time to get up and move forward. We must learn that when we face these challenges in life that it is not the end. We cannot give up because of one defeat. The greatest athletes conquer many failures before they reach their fame or before they earn that one title or championship ring.

Believe in yourself and life will fall into place. Give up, and life will give up on your as well. These are the days that you are in the dark, you are afraid of what exists on the other side, you are afraid of how the process and steps to success, but you realize that you must be courageous and take a deep breath before you jump. This is exactly how I felt before I began my application to serve in the Peace Corps and through out the year and a half that followed before I left. I was working for a non profit job with not much room for advancement and had begun dating a wonderful beautiful girl. What did this all mean? Why were these events happening in the order they were and what was to become of these events? 

Through my company I worked for, I also worked in part with the city of Dallas. After informing the leader of the city organization of my future endeavors, he was super excited and confirmed he would have a letter of recommendation by the city upon my return. The girl I had started dating my last few months at home was at first skeptical of a relationship while I was away, but our relationship evolved and we are working through it. She was supportive of my ideas and reasoning behind applying to Peace  Corps which I thank her for understanding!

Being immersed in a new country and culture provides new challenges on its own, but as in any culture you must be proactive or you will soon discover that nothing will get done. You have to be willing to take that first step even if it is the craziest thing you have ever done. You will never be successful in life by just wondering what success feels like. Be active, be curious, be inventive and creative, be brave and bold, take initiative, live without fear, breathe, smile, be happy and content, be a leader not a follower, and most of all believe in yourself. Put all of these in a blender one at a time, this is success.

This is my journey. Thank you all for your love and support over the years!