Connecting the Dots

"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something: your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life." Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement Speech

A fellow PCV in Guatemala posted this quote and reflected on its relevance to our current lives as PCV's, and soon to be RPCV's.

Here are my thoughts.

My Aunt Ginger told me to be fully present for my time left here in El Salvador because once I am gone, I will long for my days in hammocks and the smiles of barefoot children. I think she is very wise. Though I am in the midst of several projects (re-roofing my school, distributing efficient cook-stoves, repairing a road and electrifying homes), I feel as if I have already begun to look back at my service. I have already begun to reflect on my time here. I am mentally preparing for my next step, this is what I do. I was worried about my obsessive future preparations, and when I expressed this worry to my family, they said, "But Chelsea, you have ALWAYS been that way." It is how I survive. It is how I got through high school, found enough money to attend college, and got into the PC shortly after. It is how I take some control of a world that is virtually uncontrollable. I like to plan. I prefer to call it drive or determination instead of less flattering things, like OCD. I like to know all of my options. I like to put all of my options on the table so that I can make the most informed decision. I am at the same time flexible, I can change my mind at the drop of a dime (to the chagrin of my mother and father- who can't keep up.) I credit this to the 'war room' in my head. It's like this: For any given decision, I have most-likely already laid out every possible advantage and risk. This makes for some dramatic decision-making and seemingly drastic life changes overnight. But really, I had it all planned out, I promise. So, there is just one problem. Once I have all of those options on the table, I have a really hard time choosing a path. I fear often that by choosing one path, I will miss out on other opportunities. I fear that I will choose the wrong path. A wise professor once told me, in my moment of crisis, "Chelsea, stop crying. (I stopped crying.) Do now, what you can't do later." So if any of you find yourselves in my position. Maybe my professor's advice will help you. This advice took me down the path to the Peace Corps, and I haven't looked back since.

As I close projects here in El Salvador, I am embarking on some new and exciting adventures. The things I am trying to do now were simple far-away dreams when I joined the Peace Corps. I joined with the only expectation that by the end, I would know what direction I was going. At the very most, I thought maybe I would know what I would invest myself in for the rest of my life. Almost 3 years later, I feel as if I am back in my professor's office. And he is telling me, "Chelsea, stop crying. Your future awaits. Do now, what you can't do later."

So, now I will offer up some of my own advice, and maybe my mantra for the approaching crossroads.

Dream. But be sure to surround yourself with people who will dream with you, and bring you back to reality when necessary.

Jump. But first build a network of people that will catch you when you fall.

Do. But first prepare yourself. Emotionally, Physically, and Spiritually to carry out the task.

So, back to the quote from the late Steve Jobs (R.I.P.). I am throwing a lot of options on the table, I am drawing a lot of dots on the paper. And I have to trust that they will all connect sometime in the future.

You never know where your dots may lead... to foreign adventures, to a multi-billion dollar company, or right back home where you started.

So draw your dots! Lots of them. Take risks. Gain experiences. Do now, what you can't do later. Because when you look back, you will see the greater plan. You will see that you were part of something bigger. Something you could have never imagined on your own.

The Following Pictures were from the recent COED Youth Business and Creativity Workshop- Many months of hard work finally paid off!