Why Philly??

So, i'm sure you know or i have told you that I am moving to Philadelphia to do an Americorps program called City Year. City Year is pretty much an organization that provides the oppurtunity for young adults to commit to ten months of full time service. During these ten months, I will be working as a tutor, role model, mentor (and much, much more) in a underperforming, disadvantaged school in Philadelphia for very very little pay i might add. I also will be doing service throughout the city as well. So why would I move out of Tampa to make less than half of what I'm making now?? I will be making very very little doing City Year and working anywhere between 40-80 hours a week!! Craziness. But i feel like this is the direction my life needs to be going right now. I know i want to pursue a career in the education/ non-profit field; possibly by becoming a school psychologist, school counselor/ academic advisor, or a school social worker. I'm leaning more towards a high school guidance counselor, which means...grad school eventually. So i figured City Year can kinda gear me toward what I (think I) want to do for the rest of my life.

I know moving to Philadelphia and working for City Year will definately be a challenge. "The depths of my struggle determines the height of my success". I heard someone say that on the Trya Show. I believe that now more than ever before. There are some things that are challenging and stressful, but God places the good and the bad in our lives for a reason. So hopefully i can learn and grow from my experiences and help others, which i believe is my purpose in life.

My other option is to stay in Tampa and continue working at the job I currently have or find another one. Honestly, I did not graduate college to work at a group sales office so I think staying at my current job is not necessarily an option. =/ I highly doubt I would be able to find another job that pertains to my interests, but if i do, staying in Tampa could possibly be a consideration. (= Which i guess some people would be happy about, others...not so much... lol I'm kinda running out of time though, if I do decide to move to Philly (theres is about a 85% chance), I have to be out of Tampa by July 31st!

Well, thats it for now, I will continue on this topic another time. But while youre waiting, if you're interested in knowing a little bit more about City Year, check out these websites!

http://www.CityYear.Org
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_Year

Tootles!
-L