Your passion will find you

After putting my 'investigating of my desire to volunteer abroad' on the back burner - due to other responsibilities - strangely enough, resources began finding me. This further illustrates the belief that: Anything your heart desires will come to you (aka imagining what you want will bring it into being).

First thing that happened: My aunt gave me the contact information of someone she knows through work. The daughter of a coworker had volunteered abroad multiple times, one time of which was in Africa. I immediately jumped on this opportunity and began addressing her with questions. She has been most helpful.

Second thing that happened: Having accumulated multiple Oprah magazines over a one year span, I decided it was time that I finally tackle the reading. Upon opening one of the magazines, something fell out of a page. It was an informational brochure and congratulatory letter from a international volunteer program that I was accepted into. I had stuffed my mail in this magazine months ago, and only now was I coming across it. Ironically enough, the mail was randomly stuffed inside an article about discovering yourself in Africa. Coincidence? I think not.

Third thing that happened: After gaining inspiration and insight from this article, I decided to directly address, via Facebook, the international volunteer program I had recently applied to online. I stated that I desired to speak to a past volunteer. Within 24 hours, a past volunteer commented back introducing the idea to Facebook message her with questions. I just made a second contact! Words cannot describe how fortunate I feel to have so many connections to relate to. Along with addressing my questions and concerns, she suggested I follow a person's blog that she knew who had volunteered in Tanzania (my desired destination) and blogged about her entire experience.

Below is the website of the author of the Africa article mentioned above.
Creating Your Right Life

All of these instances made me realize that this is a burning desire within me that I just cannot ignore.

"Where our attention goes, so go our lives."

Affirmations

Watching things like this inspires me to fulfill my decision (based on clarity) to live out my passion - volunteer abroad. Big goals and dreams seem more attainable when spoken of confidently. For example:

 

"I will volunteer abroad" is more powerful than "I want to volunteer abroad".

 

This is a form of an affirmation that, when repeatedly spoken out loud, will seem more realistic and attainable. Even though it is not set in stone, I speak of this expedition as if it is undoubtedly going to happen. Other affirmations could come in visual forms (e.g. I have a picture of Africa as my computer background, I watch Africa specials on the Discovery Channel, I introduce myself to the culture through videos on YouTube, etc.).

 

Whatever your dream or goals, affirmations help to keep them a priority in your present life to make them reality in your future.

Think like there is no box

"Don't think outside the box. Think like there is no box."

It's easy for us to set limits for ourselves, or better said, stay in our comfort zones. But, how much can one achieve by refraining from taking risks.... taking chances? Believing in yourself and your capabilities will bring you to greater heights than you could have ever imagined. It'd be ordinary for me to graduate and establish a career right away. (If this is your journey you chose to take, then good for you! So long as you never limit yourself and always challenge yourself to the unimaginable.) Personally, I have chosen to step out of my comfort zone and challenge myself to experience a culture completely different from my own. Volunteering abroad will enable me to reach my full potential and explore an unfamiliar part of my self being.

How will you challenge yourself?

Unwritten - Natasha Bedingfield

 

 

 

 

Clarity, not fear

"Make a decision based on clarity, not fear."

These words, spoken by my mentor, made a lot of sense to me. This saying can be applied to basically every aspect of life: personal, professional, social..... It can mean something different for every individual and be applied in a variety of ways. Personally, I can apply it to the question: What am I to do once I graduate in May?
I have two options: Jump into a career right away or volunteer abroad. After the conversation with my mentor, I realized that jumping into a career right away would be a decision based on fear; Fear of not being able to find a job out of college (deeper rooted fear of not having a plan for my future and feeling like a loose kite blowing in the wind). It then became evident to me that volunteering abroad would be a decision based on clarity. It is a passion of mine to not only volunteer, but to travel. And what better time to do it than now when I have zero debt and no commitments?
So, how will you apply this statement to your life?