While savoring the last days of my vacation in the United States, I received the news of the tragic death of Peace Corps Paraguay Volunteer, Emily Balog. While there are so many things to say after an incident like this, understatements and conciseness will serve me better so as not to misrepresent my understanding of Emily, her family and friends, her life, her death. We had only met once, but when reading the news, not only did I feel stunned as a member of this Volunteer community, but also because Emily was a Carolina girl, a Tarheel, and as I read the story of the harrowing car accident that took her life, I was in Boone, North Carolina in my home, surrounded by my family. To know that a couple hours down the road, a family's entire past, reality, and dreams were being upheaved and their hearts torn in two while we were all sitting around watching football and folding laundry, like I'm sure they had done many a Sunday evening, was unbearably painful. Core shaking.
Living by yourself in a foreign country for 2 years puts a lot of time on your hands and a lot of thoughts in your head. Like all people, I have probably spent way too much time pondering life and death, and the only conclusion I have come to is not a profound product discovered in the midst of such mental agony but rather an acknowledgement of a simple principle that I have always known. And that is, the best thing we can do in this life is be kind and treat one another with love and compassion.
Coming to Paraguay two years ago as a bright-eyed, optimistic Peace Corps Volunteer, I thought it was about a lot more, cliche phrases like "making a difference" ... "giving back" ... "leaving the world a better place" all ringing in my ears. Now I've realized it's so much more simple than that. Because it's not an accomplishment; it's a way of life. It shouldn't be a competition or a campaign; it's a duty of humankind. And if everyone, up to politicians and rich men, regarded each action with those principles in mind, there wouldn't exist so many conflicts and discrepancies waiting to be solved.
So I will meditate it with each breath I take throughout the ins and outs of my daily life and channel it into each interaction and every decision. "Be kind and treat one another with love and compassion." And in that, I will have confidence that I have done my best, that I have served this world. Because I'm sure people remember and appreciated Emily's kindness, compassion, and love the most.
