My parents disowned me when I told them I was joining the Peace Corps. I remember the day clearly. It was a bright, breezy May morning as I thumbed through the Classifieds in the Washington Post. Moving back home from college took a lot of adjusting, and it had only been a week. I felt sophisticated, as if four years of college warranted me at the same table as my father as we sipped our coffee and read the morning paper (is there such a thing as an afternoon paper?). I mean, wasn't this the moment I always dreamed of as a young girl? Instead of feigning interest, this time around I was actually interested in reading the paper. Granted, I was looking for a job and very much involved might I add. So much involved that I did not see my father staring at me from behind the World News."Aren't you going to apply to graduate school?"There it was. A perfect morning shattered by expectations."Hmmm...no, I don't think I will."A ruffling of paper and I look up to see my father folding his paper in half, then in quarters. Peering from his reading glasses he stared at me from across the mahogany breakfast table. The fake mahogany breakfast table that I had bought from a friend for $20 now stood as a conspicuous artifact, a testament that I had once lived in an apartment by myself and had survived."I thought we had an agreement?"Ahhh, the agreement. To agree would mean that both sides had to agree on the said subject matter, but when dealing with parents it is always a unilateral contract, usually never in writing so that if proof is needed, a simple, "because I said so" ends all protests. What it must feel like to always have the upper hand! "Hmmm...I don't remember any agreement...but if you are referring to my PhD, I thought about it, and...I didn't think much of it."
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So I suppose I should start this journey by explaining my reasons for joining the Peace Corps. I believe my excuse, when asked why, has been, "It's something I've always wanted to do." Usually the inquiries stop there, and I am quite relief that I have to explain no more. But, my friends, there is so much more!

The only problem is...How do you describe a feeling?