Safety first!

By: Eierí Jordán Salivia

Most of the problems in life come because of two reasons. First, we act without thinking. Second, we keep thinking without acting. For some of us life is -sort of- figured out at different moments of our lives, after high school, during or after college, etc. At those points, we believe things are organized enough that it would not be much of a problem, and then we set cruise control. Ironically, that’s when we completely lose control. We lose track. We lose motivation. Sometimes we even lose ourselves and who we believe we want to be.

I joined the Corps at the age limit, 25. Perhaps a bit too late, perhaps at the right moment. However, since the beginning I had so many questions and doubts about if this was going to be the right move for me. Will volunteering full-time interfere with my future plans? Will it be possible for me to live with an stipend and debt on my shoulders? What about the career I already started, will I have to start from zero again? What if Minnesota is not the right place? And questions kept coming, and coming, and coming.

Well, I‘m here to tell you one simple truth; We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations. True story! While you study the possibility of joining Conservation Corps (or any organization for that matter), I would like to have the pleasure to give you an insight during the next 10 months about what it means to volunteer, to find yourself, and to live -abroad. Hopefully you will find it useful, as well as entertaining.

Before closing this entry I want to let you know that volunteering is the single most rewarding and meaningful thing you could possibly do when it comes to work. You might just have a few hours in a whole month available, but those minutes will weight more in the long run than most of the things in your life. Think about it.

Now be safe, do your research, and stay in touch.
I’ll see you here next month.

– Eierí.