Recently, for whatever reason, I started thinking about a point in my life at the time I graduated from undergrad school. I had three letters of acceptance to consider and decide what to do. Two were from law schools, the third from the Peace Corps. I was very, very fortunate that my parents were entirely okay with whatever I chose to do.
The two law schools--that was pretty easy, and I made the preliminary choice based on the schools' relative reputations for quality & of course what their grads were pulling down after school. The third was a little more challenging. I had--again for a reason that entirely escapes me now--tested for and qualified for the Peace Corps. There was a test, language apptitude and an essay. My acceptance letter said return and sign, you will be going to I believe it was Cornell for an intensive language program in Swahili, and I would be posted in Tanzania for my term of work teaching English. I sat on the letters for several days, wondering what it would be like to be separated for more than two years from everything I had known, friends, family, living in a great town and living in East Africa--it was exciting, yet frightening. My parents said, go to law school after, the law school was okay with putting off my entrance. At the time I knew, but was not totally committed to the lady who became my wife and mother of my children. She also was cool with whatever I did. There was the war in Viet Nam, but I had pulled a "good" number in the lottery and had little chance of being drafted to visit Southeast Asia! I finally decided to be "adult" and get on with my professional choice and I signed the law school letter. But I wonder, what would my life have been like, what effects on my outlook would have occurred if I had signed the Peace Corps letter. It's a path not taken, a door not opened. Too bad we can't do all this at least twice.
Did any of you face any "fork in the road" decision or decisions?
