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<DIV><FONT color=#000000>Hi all,</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV>There were some really good articles today on the Community Service
Division Twitter timeline, and I wanted to share a couple of them with all of
you.</DIV>
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<DIV><FONT color=#000000>The first one is written by an AmeriCorps alum and
shows that while you are helping others, you can learn something about yourself,
too. I have included both the text of the article and a link to the original Web
page below my signature. I’d love to hear your thoughts.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000>In addition, feel free to share something valuable,
unexpected, or both that you learned while serving, whether it was about
yourself, an organization you volunteered with, the people you helped/served
with, etc.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT color=#000000>Chris Parsons</FONT></DIV>
<DIV>Vice President, National Federation of the Blind Community Service
Division</DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>What AmeriCorps Taught Me: Finding Yourself Vs. Creating Yourself</DIV>
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<DIV>October 13, 2014</DIV>
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<DIV>tags: Americorps vista, City Year, Life After AmeriCorps, stories of
service</DIV>
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<DIV>by Maria Caruso </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>HeadshotToday’s guest blog comes from Eli N. Goldman, a four-time
AmeriCorps veteran of Bonner Community Scholars at The College of New
Jersey, City Year, and a two-term VISTA. Eli is now working towards his master’s
of public administration at Rutgers – Newark while looking for a career that
aligns with his passion for creating a social impact. Follow along with him on
Twitter (@EliNGoldman) and LinkedIn.</DIV>
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<DIV>I believe that people working for the common good is what made this nation
strong. That is why I joined AmeriCorps and served 4 years for a total of 5
assignments in three states on both coasts of the U.S. I wanted to do my part to
help my country. However, I also was looking for something. I wanted to find
myself.</DIV>
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<DIV>City Year with my brother</DIV>
<DIV>Eli (right) with his brother during his City Year service.</DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>One of the main selling points of AmeriCorps is the professional
development. For me though an equally important aspect of it was the chance to
grow as a person. AmeriCorps helped shape how I view the world and engage with
others. I can’t say that I’d be who I am today without the experiences I had
while serving.</DIV>
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<DIV>When I joined City Year in 2011 I didn’t really have a firm idea of what I
wanted to do with my life. I had just graduated from TCNJ, my first AmeriCorps
term as a Bonner Community Scholar was over, I needed a job, and I was
disillusioned with being a teacher.</DIV>
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<DIV>What I did know though was that I was passionate about helping create
social impact. I wanted to have a positive influence on people, my community,
the nation and world. City Year, and its focus on ending the high school dropout
crisis in America, provided that for me.</DIV>
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<DIV>Eli with Newark VISTA co-workers.</DIV>
<DIV>Eli with Newark VISTA co-workers.</DIV>
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<DIV>From 2012 – 2014 I served as a VISTA in the New York and San Francisco
metropolitan areas. Anyone that has done VISTA knows how challenging it can be.
Due to the rules of the program I wasn’t able to take a second job to supplement
my income. I spent a lot of nights alone in my room, reading, writing, analyzing
my mistakes and thinking about what I wanted my future to look like.</DIV>
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<DIV>In California I’d bike 18 miles to work because I couldn’t afford a car and
public transportation would eat away at my funds. I’d also bike for miles
sometimes just to clear my head. These rides helped me to begin dealing with
hard questions, some of which I had been avoiding, that I knew I was going to
have to answer sooner or later.</DIV>
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<DIV>During my time in AmeriCorps, especially my last term in California, I was
framing my life and professional decisions as a journey to find myself. I was
expecting to have an epiphany and afterwards just know who I am and what I
wanted to do. I was sure I’d change over the years but after finding myself I’d
have a greater sense of peace and stability in my life.</DIV>
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<DIV>I came to realize though that this was the wrong way to look at
things.</DIV>
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<DIV>In Monterey, California I was walking along the boardwalk while on a break
from my VISTA work. I was trying to figure out my next steps. I felt a lot of
pressure to make the “right” decision about which jobs to pursue, what Masters
program to apply for, should I move back to the east coast and more. I still
didn’t believe I had found myself and was beginning to doubt that if I hadn’t
done it by now I was never going to. Month’s prior I had also begun to feel that
if I was going to have a successful and happy life my mindset needed to
change.</DIV>
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<DIV>Then I saw it. It was a neon pink bumper sticker. It said, “Don’t Find
Yourself, Create Yourself.” I realize having a moment from seeing a bumper
sticker is a little ridiculous but for me it just seemed as if the universe was
trying to tell me something at that moment.</DIV>
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<DIV>I now realize I had been approaching life and career decisions from the
wrong perspective. I was never going to reach a “moment” where I knew exactly
who I am. Even if I did, that person would inevitably change due to various
circumstances and I’d be on the search once again. Life and careers aren’t
static.</DIV>
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<DIV>best friends from city year - Copy</DIV>
<DIV>Eli and his best friends from City Year</DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>What I needed to do was re-frame my previous experiences and change how I
viewed life going forward from that point. I decided that I must consciously
pursue opportunities that corresponded with my passion for having a social
impact. I needed to be deliberate. I needed to create my life and who I wanted
to be, not look for it.</DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>Coming to the realization that I am the one in charge and that there will
be no one moment where I find out definitively who I am was a little terrifying.
However, it also began to make me feel more empowered, stronger and confident
than I ever had before. It gave me a sense of responsibility. Things weren’t
going to just wait for me to find them or make them happen. I had to go out and
do it.</DIV>
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<DIV>We are all on some sort of journey. What AmeriCorps programs like City
Year, Bonner and VISTA taught me though was that this journey is defined by what
we want it to be and that there is no endpoint. While outside factors have an
influence you are the one who largely decides how things can go. Creating
yourself isn’t passive.</DIV>
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<DIV>It is an active and ongoing process. We create our lives through our
thoughts, actions and words. That is what AmeriCorps taught me and it is one of
the greatest lessons I have learned so far.</DIV>
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<DIV><A
title=http://blog.americorpsalums.org/2014/10/13/what-americorps-taught-me-finding-yourself-vs-creating-yourself/
href="http://blog.americorpsalums.org/2014/10/13/what-americorps-taught-me-finding-yourself-vs-creating-yourself/">http://blog.americorpsalums.org/2014/10/13/what-americorps-taught-me-finding-yourself-vs-creating-yourself/</A></DIV>
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