The question I have been asked constantly since I started the process of applying to the Peace Corps is, “why?” I always give a perfectly engineered answer that leaves the asker content. However, as I am about to arrive and start training I find myself asking myself why too. I am not questioning my decision, but rather I am trying to understand my decision, find my drive. I am not one bit satisfied with the answer I have given to others. One of the problems I believe the Peace Corps has is recruiting volunteers who are immensely idealistic. People who are joining because they believe they can change the world for the better, only to find out that the world is a complex and irksome place. I came to this conclusion because in my slew of interviews I was constantly told of the difficulties of distinguishing tangible positive change. Yet it is not the thought of having an immediate positive impact on the world that drew me to join the Peace Corps. It was the world’s seemingly never ending complexities that made me want to join. I want to understand how the world is so darkened with despair, but never starved of hope. So my answer to my own question on why I joined the Peace Corps is to attempt to understand the world we live in and share my understanding with others.