What's Next

What’s Next

The Peace Corps gave me a unique opportunity to reflect on my life as it had been before. It was as if I had hit the pause button on the movie of my life. I had a chance to review it to that point as a film critic, dissecting each scene and making a judgement on each character. The story arc was poor but the leading man had enough charisma to make it interesting.

Jokes aside, the pause button analogy is apt. I thought a lot about what I wanted to do when my I got the chance to restart my life again. In fact, I realized I had plenty of time to draft a narrative for the next act and even edit it a few times. I’m not saying I won’t go off script or make mistakes. Just that in a movie I know has a finite amount of time, I have a unique opportunity to evaluate things and to make sure the story is headed where I want it to go.

First, I want to stay active in my Ghanaian community. I wasn’t replaced so I feel especially compelled to continue to work with the community leaders to make a positive impact. I struggle with how to do this from a distance because I feel so conflicted about just giving money. However, I think that giving scholarships is the best way I can directly invest in the community while avoiding potential negative impacts. By giving the best students the chance to study in programs they might not otherwise be able to afford, I can contribute resources while minimizing the appearance of western influence and focus on the accomplishments of the local students. I think this will also ensure that the money is not wasted, abused, or neglected since the only way to take advantage of it is to continue doing well in school. So I’ll be exploring the best ways to do this in the next few months.

I discovered that I need to make taking care of my health a priority. I need to eat right. I need to be active. I need to get my mind right. This will be my new financial priority as well. It’s worth spending any amount of money to protect my health.

Additionally, I want to try and reestablish relationships I have with people in the US that have been slipping. This has always been a weakness of mine and it doesn’t come natively to me so I’ll have to make a special effort to do so but I hope it will be worth it. I’ve been really lucky to have lived in and spent time in so many different places and I’ve formed connections with people in such a wide variety of hobbies and interests so it will be difficult but I intend to try.

I also realized that the future always seemed distant enough that I could live for the moment, in the moment. That may no longer be the case. While I was accepted to the Peace Corps as a 28-year-old, I’m nearly 32 as I write this and with that comes a different mindset. I have to start choosing between the things I want to accomplish long term and what I want to experience short term. I guess in some ways my 20’s was about improving myself and while that process will continue, I feel I need to start using the work that I’ve put in.

With that in mind, I’ve taken the GMAT and am considering graduate school for matriculation in the fall of 2020. I spent a long time taking the jobs that came my way and not following a distinct path towards a specific goal. My combined experiences in business and working abroad, as well as my deep interest in politics and policy has led me to believe that pivoting to a career in global affairs with a focus on business/economics would suit me well. So while I’m still working on the details of that goal, I’m taking the steps necessary to begin my pursuit of it should I choose to take that path.

For now, I’ve picked up where I left off in the corporate events industry, a space that I absolute love. And, in the spirit of re-imagining my life after the play button gets pressed, I’ve tried to match the specific work I do to meet some new standards for myself. I’m now an independent contractor and intend to work mostly from home or on the road when I’m able. I hope this will allow me to work on a few different types of projects in a variety of roles, expanding my knowledge and experience, while allowing me to focus on my health, my studies, some personal pet projects I have on the side and, perhaps most importantly, reconnecting with friends and family all across the US.