Heavy drugs aka politics

Now, getting away from the deep stuff, there are some pretty significant changes I have noticed in myself. First, whereas before PC I had to try hard to read non-fiction it has now totally flipped. It is actually hard for me to read fiction. I feel like I am wasting my time by not acquiring knowledge with a non-fiction read. At the same time, I get anxious when my podcasts go unheard. There too is a new habit. A fellow PCV turned me onto podcasts while I was here (thanks, Eli!). Podcasts are now an extension of this anxiety about soaking up more information constantly. Maybe this can be attributed to my fellow PCVs. They are a group, as you can imagine, of (mostly) highly active citizens who constantly discuss current events, their impact, and their respective opinions on all matters. This can often lead to many wild opinions and what one friend says a love of being a "contrarian." Because of this, one finds themselves often feeling like they have to be able to effectively defend their positions at any gathering of PCVs. When I came into the Peace Corps, I was foggy on a few beliefs and always wary of labels- D, R, left, right, liberal, conservative. After a job interview about what label I would put on myself, I froze up and said something about being Catholic....like that was clarification. I felt like an idiot and made sure I did some major thinking about how I would handle this question in the future. Since then, because of that interview and my fellow PCVs, I feel like I can more comfortably give my positions and finally, sin pena, declare that I am a Democrat albeit a very disappointed one sometimes. I can also give you point-by-point my opinion on most hot-button issues and my reasoning.

Facebook has also become transformed to me. It reminds me of an old life that now seems very foreign to me. My newsfeed is about 70% sorority sisters and their still very sorority-like lives. 15% is my SG nerd/Capitol/PCV friends who, like me, fill their feeds with the latest political news and opinions or other nerdy adventures. The remaining 15% is misc. high school or family. That 70% is what weirds me out. And, I like to imagine it weirds them out if they happen to glance at my feed. (I like to imagine some of these sorority friends talking about me in passing conversation as one would talk about a friend who got into heavy drugs and is no longer part of normal society.) To see how much my life has changed is incredible, where my life would be if I had not decided to take a totally different route. It's definitely not better but it certainly is different.

Whereas once my Dad was reminding me that I needed to finish college on time, he now asks that I chill and try not to be serious all the time. In fact, when I told him about my podcasting he asked me to also try to listen to something non-political too. Maybe something fun ie. not so serious. However, my love of podcast and non-fiction signals not a turn to the ultra-serious but rather a obvious yearning to be back in the classroom. Yep, looks like grad school is in the immediate future.

It will be most interesting to me to see how I reintegrate into my life. How it will be to be back in Austin and run into my old friends-SG and sorority alike. What will my future FB photos show me doing? Who will I be running around with? What will I be wearing? PC tries to prepare us for getting back into our lives knowing that many of us have undergone major changes. The cheesy charlas will never really help though. You just appreciate the heads up of what about you are about to experience and pray for the best.

Ok, well there I went and got deep after I said I wouldn't. Oh well.