Peace Corps & What If's

When I was in high school and college, my dream was to join the Peace Corps. I never fantasized about marrying and having kids, living a middle class lifestyle. I envisioned journeying to a far off country (and helping people but I guess that was secondary to the far off country). Then I met my husband. I still continued on the path of the Peace Corps though. I applied, was interviewed and accepted. My parents thought I was crazy but said they would watch my dog for me while I was gone. 

Then I got notified that I had to have a plan to pay my bills. I had student loans and credit card debt from buying years of textbooks. Damn, those are expensive. In this age of e-books, I wonder if college students still spend a thousand dollars on books every semester? The Peace Corps gives you a stipend but not much. Somehow the thought of figuring that money thing out lost its appeal next to the promising stable future that I could have with my husband. We moved in together and the rest is history. 

Where would I have ended up if I had stayed on the Peace Corps path? In Africa, a place I still dream about going? In Europe, Asia, South America? Would I have met someone in the Peace Corps and fallen in love and lived a completely different story? My children are my life, my greatest treasures, I don't regret the path that I chose but I do think 'what if'?

If there's one lesson I can teach my kids, it's that if you have a dream that stays in your mind and soul for year after year, don't let it fade away. Pursue that dream no matter how far fetched it is, then you'll never have to wonder 'what if'. Maybe after the kids are grown up, I'll resubmit my application to the Peace Corps. I'm hoping they take a few middle aged do-gooders along with the bright-eyed twenty years olds.