My Act of Happiness, 2013

slash...Everything in my Head that Needs to be Let Go

Gioconda, you need to make sure you REALLY get to know anyone before you trust them….I’m talking a bazillion conversations and hours upon hours of spending time together. There is so much more to people than you’ll ever know but to get close, you need to get to know. Let people come to you too; don’t feel you need to be everyone’s friend.

Be as damn near perfect as a daughter as you can for your mom. She has given up so much for you and worked so hard for your happiness. Your mom loves you more than anyone else on this planet. Mom is number one and she deserves THE BEST…the utmost best this planet has to offer. She is the most generous and loving person in the world – a real live angel. Love your mom with all your heart and every form of your being. Help her gain back that sense of meaning in life – remind her to PAINT. She is YOUR meaning in life, that’s for damn sure.

Miklos is your brother and he will always be there for you. Don’t worry so much that you can’t be there for him during his college years. Just make sure you reach out and do as much as your part as you can. Your best is what matters to him.

Car is the best thing that’s ever happened to you. She’s a friend of a lifetime. She will grow old with you. She’s helped you grow so much. This girl is another angel. Pray for her and always take care of her.

Don’t lie to yourself to make yourself feel better. Be who you are. Just be honest about everything. There’s things we can’t control in life and we just need to trust God to take the wheel. He’ll take you home Gioconda.

One day you need to go back to the Amalfi coast with Miklos, maybe 2015 on your backpacking trip with him?

When you get home after the Peace Corps, medical school will fall into place. Just be patient. First take that damn Chemistry course – maybe at Cuesta College and get away from LA, live with Kateets – work at the beach, maybe do ocean lifeguarding up there OR you could go back to Denver and take classes at Metro OR escape somewhere super cheap to go to school and take classes there, although you may just want to be close to family after Peace Corps – just do whatever it takes to get that class done, then apply for UCLA or USC’s post-baccalaureate program. Follow through and WORK YOUR ASS OFF. THIS IS WHERE GRADES REALLY START TO MATTER. Make sure you go to bed tired every night. Apply to medical school in California and Charleston, South Carolina – nowhere else. You want to be close to home for the next stage of your life. Maybe after two years you’re over your Charleston obsession, maybe not though. It’s all okay. Work the hardest you’ve ever worked and you’ll see – everything else will fall into place.

Throughout these two years, wherever you see need, assist. This is your ultimate job as a Peace Corps volunteer. Make God proud.

·         Viviendas Saludables (year-long health program for bettering health in the home and at the end, we build latrine's for everybody)

·         Escuelas Saludables (year-long school program for bettering health with the kids at school)

·         Community trash pick ups

·         Treat the water of Oidor

·         Leadership Camp

·         Do Camp ALMA (for girls to realize they can and SHOULD go to school, improve their self-worth and self-esteem)

·         Be present

·         Play with the kids as much as you can

·         Do charlas in your office to keep the health promoters up to speed

·         Keep the Kid’s Club going strong, be their mentor

·         Keep doing walks, hikes, runs with the kids

·         Do Pasos Adelante (6-9 month HIV/AIDS prevention program)

Run that damn Lima marathon with no one on the sidelines for you or not.

Make sure Car, Kellie and Miklos get here in August to hike Machu Picchu, go to Ancash, go camping, see the jungle and just have this experience with the people that matter the most to you in life.

Your forever friends are Kellie Burch, Clay Clay, Ernie, Sarah Skolnik, Michelle, Coachie and Car. You have many other good friends to be thankful for as well though, but if you needed to talk to someone in the middle of the night, these are the people you’d call without hesitation.

It doesn’t matter what anyone thinks of you.

Be beautiful you.