Everyone was excited! I had made it into the hard to get into Atlas Corps program. I was going to America! And naturally, everyone asked me if I was excited. “Of course, I’m very excited!”, I’d reply, but deep inside, I really didn’t feel anything. Yes, I was grateful, I had read all the good that would come out of the program, had religiously attended the webinars, read the policies, but there was no feeling at all. And I kept hoping that it would come the closer I got to actually starting the program, and thus started a countdown just to be sure. But nay, no such luck.
The long-awaited day did finally come, and the only feeling running about was a little anxiety about overweight bags. Now I was getting really worried. I had pledged one year of my time to acquire new skills, share my skills, be part of an awesome network of professionals and global world changers, and I didn’t feel a thing.
And on one sunny Tuesday morning during the Atlas Corps 101 with Scott, it did finally come. The feeling of excitement, or something extremely close to that. It all suddenly made sense. The thing is, there was nothing so new with this presentation. Most of the content had already been shared in the articles and policies I’d read, but the way everything was presented with passion, how everything fit together, the literal benefits that would come from the program from real life examples of previous fellows, it all cleared the blurred lines and the indifferent feelings. I suddenly felt the same way I’d felt when I wrote the long part of the application. I was excited…for real. And I couldn’t wait to roll my sleeves up and get the ball rolling.
From there on, the rest of the orientation trainings, the interaction with all the awesome fellows, the long training hours, they all fit perfectly together. And I knew that this is exactly where I was supposed to be.
I don’t know what the future holds, but for now, I’m glad to be a part of the amazing Atlas Corps web, a membership that lasts forever……even into the afterlife.