the fam

i've been slowly telling people about my plan.  as you can imagine, there have been a variety of reactions.  my family, in particular, have some concerns.  what about your job?  what will you do with the house?  this is such a terrible time to leave a solid, well-paying job.  it's a horrible time to try to sell a house – are you going to lose money?  and of course, concerns about making a large, important decision in a time of great transition or emotion.

all valid concerns.  all very parental and caring and legitimate.

i guess maybe i shouldn't have been telling people so "slowly."  i didn't want to say anything until i had really made the decision, but that makes it surprising for those who didn't know i was considering it.  in fact, very few people knew that i was considering it at all.  i'd mentioned it a few times in the last couple years, but i guess not very memorably.  perhaps even just flip-ly.  but like so many other things in my life, it has percolated in my brain for a long time.  like my college application essays, or important letters I've written, something happens in my brain when i'm sleeping or not actively thinking about things.  thoughts coalesce, concepts clear, words form, things come together.  this process has been ongoing for a long time.

years, even.  i've been unhappy at my job for a long, long time.  varying degrees of unhappy, mind you, but not truly enjoying it or satisfied or feeling challenged or interested.  not really using the parts of my heart and brain that are so vital to me.  for many years, i've wished i could do something more involved with design.  companies like IDEO and EVO Design do amazing things from toys and consumer products to sustainable designs for health care and high-tech innovations, etc., etc.  then a few years ago i saw an exhibit at the Walker in Minneapolis called "Design for the Other 90%."  THIS is what fits *me*.  Functional designs that change lives in developing countries.  creative solutions that make sense in the existing environment, using readily-available resources for inexpensive answers.  if i could find a company that did just this…  well, there is someone who leads such a venture – Amy Smith of MIT, who, incidentally, was in the Peace Corps.  She leads students doing exactly that.  if only i were still an MIT student…

against that background, the Peace Corps makes sense.  no, i don't expect to be doing that kind of design exactly, but it fits with my interests.  it allows me to make a contribution in a place where it's needed.  i get to learn another culture and language, which i've done before and loved.  and it's a good launching point for discovering what i want to do next, where and how, in addition to being a magnificent end unto itself.

finally, i'm ready for a change.  for significant change.  for simplifying.  for doing something new.  for starting over in many ways.

while it may be shocking to others, none of these thoughts are new to me.  and seriously, have you met me?  have i ever made a rash decision in my life?

job, house and money?  those are questions for another time.