Kara Anthony, 130 TESS
They say when you are trying to accomplish a thing, you will always run into an obstacle, or two, or three before you succeed. Yet, still collectively as human beings, we are always startled, invariably shocked, when we encounter a hurdle in route to the finish line. Sometimes, even if it throws us completely off of our game and without conscious control, it grasps our attention, shifts our focus, and leaves us feeling completely defeated.
Hurdle.
- An obstacle or difficulty
Challenges are most evident during the moments when we are most passionate and driven to succeed. Gary Hopkins said it best, “Anything worth having does not come easy.” The things we want most out of life, the most rewarding things, do not come easy to us; we must work persistently for them. The journey that a person must put forth effort and overtime in, is the journey that is without a doubt, the journey worth seeking.
Peace Corps would define the undesirable and unwelcoming moments as “low points” throughout the duration of service. You know, the really tough moments that leave you feeling like you are better off going back home. The moments when you feel under-valued, lonely, unappreciated, disconnected, unproductive, useless… As PCVs we are most vulnerable during our low points; we feel everything, and in those moment all we need is a push, a sign, anything really, for us to keep on going.
Hope.
- A person or thing that can help or save someone;
- Grounds for believing that something good may happen
It comes in all shapes, forms, and sizes. It comes in the form of a text message, seeing a teacher at school adopting a classroom routine you’ve taught them, a student yelling out “good morning, Teacha!” on your way to school, a random package of goodies on your door step, and sometimes (if you’re lucky), a surprise from your cohort with a delicious ice cream cake on your birthday.
Hope, the antidote; a gentle push we need to get over the hurdles we encounter in life. It is the thing we need in the moments where we feel defeated. Hope is what reminds us of our reason for starting. It is that which does not allow us to lose heart, and that which lifts us up when we are knocked down.
Peace Corps Thailand Magazine 