Anywho, as you all know, my AmeriCorps service year is coming to a close this December (oh soooo soon! I'm not ready!) So I jumped right back up onto that job application bandwagon that includes roughly 10% of all Americans these days...my heart goes out to those who have not been as lucky as I have. I have met plenty of college graduates with impressive resumes waiting tables and working seasonal temporary jobs only to spent the other 6 months of the year unemployed to know that I have been plenty lucky to end up where I have getting the experiences that I am. I have not ruled out the possibility of finding a "real job" as my pops and brother put it ("Shelby...don't you think its time for you to get a real job?" - the easy answer is no...) as I know that a steady income and comfortable home cannot be discounted, and believe me, I'll get there, as soon as I'm good and ready and find what I'm looking for. I have applied to several federal jobs, dozens of private jobs, and a few temporary placeholder type jobs, and I'm in a somewhat similar position to the one I was in last year at this time. I'm running out of time to make a decision though because this time I have bills to pay, I'm 3000 miles from all the people that would put me up for free until I do find something, and my health insurance is expiring (a terrifying thought in America today). So, because I know you are all curious as to what may come next, I will tell you. I am considering, quite seriously, completeing a second term of AmeriCorps out here with the Conservancy. Now before you go jumping to any conclusion about me taking the easy road, shirking responsibility, and staying so damn far away from everyone, keep in mind that I am a responsible and rational person and I have never done ANYTHING that I didn't know was the right decision, and while I am not completely settled on this yet (so yes, please keep sending me jobs if you see them, and thank you so much to those of you that already have!) I do know that if I go for it, it is because it is absolutely what I want to do.
For you doubting-thomases out there, here is why I believe that I will have made the right choice. First and foremost, this job has been the luckiest result of my first job falling through that I could have asked for, I have learned a whole new skill set in environmental monitoring, I have learned of a whole new possible career path in restoration (where environmental engineering tends to clean up after and/or regulate the damage irresponsible (and really all) humans do to the environment, restoration aims at returning the natural environment to its pre-influenced state, a subtle but significant difference), and I have met a group of incredibly smart and kind and interesting people, full of knowledge and happy to share; you cant ask for a better work environment! More than that, with AmeriCorps I have the flexibility of making my own schedule, running my own days, and coming and going as I please, which I love, but has not once slowed me down...still working the occasional 60 hour week mostly because I enjoy what I do and don't mind putting in the time it takes to do a good job. Today, with the economy the way it is, so many people have been forced to work jobs that they can't even stand going to just to pay the bills. I'm young, I have no major obligations, I can afford to live in the low income manor of the perpetual volunteer, and for now, I don't mind. This seems a small price to pay for a job I enjoy, meaningful experience, and incredible learning opportunities. All that seems like enough, and it is, but theres more! I live in what might be one of the most beautiful places in the entire country, Lake Tahoe. There are tons of recreation opportunities and I have already fallen in love with backpacking and hiking in the Sierra Nevada, and these are mostly free once you collect the gear you need! Plus I get a $5,000 education award for each year of service...meaning that after 2 years of AmeriCorps plus my brief one year in Peace Corps I will have knocked out $13,500 worth of my student loans. Now I'm not an accountant, but I think thats probably significantly more than I would have paid off had I just taken one of those job offers at graduation and started with regular payments.
So there you have it, my justification for my life that no one has asked me to justify, but sometimes you just need to explain these things to someone else as a way to explain them to yourself. Anyway, its been quite a ride thus far and I'm not quite ready to give up the possibility of finding a job that actually pays AND makes me happy...but until then I will settle for ones that I love that don't pay, because happiness is more important than money, and I truly believe that. Here are some images of my adventures, a recap of some of my favorite old ones and some new ones, a celebration of all I've done since college:
Dusty evening in Mauritania
Ramadan Fete with my Host Family...I miss them so! Plus I was good friend with that sheep, so sad that he ended up in my tummy, vegetarian no more!
Epic battles with insanely large spiders
Back to Vermont winters with my wonderful parents and adorable doggies!
A road trip across the entire country with my Papa Bear
A few months spent learning to live alone and finding new friends in Placerville
Exciting new adventures in a beautiful new home in South Lake Tahoe
And more recently: Watching the Kokanee swim upstream only to lay their eggs and die, while the mallards stand by to eat those eggs that the fish gave their lives for as soon as they are left in the gravel
My first trip to the biggest little city in the world, and my first pub crawl dressed as a zombie too!
So this is what I think I would look like if I were among the walking dead...
Hope you all had a fantastic Halloween weekend and a wonderful week, and I promise I will start to update more often again (sorry for the delay Momma!). Sorry for my long-winded explanations but I can't expect you all to continue to support me in my adventures without explaining to you why they mean so much to me. So I hope you are looking forward to more stories to come, because I'm not done living yet! More pictures and adventures to come, I promise!
Much love and happy thoughts to all who read this!
~Shelby
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