STOP TELLING ME TO JOIN THE PEACE CORP., or How Men Don't Understand the Limitations of Women in Foreign Countries

So this is going to stem from a lot of personal strife going on right now, but bear with me.  I live with my parents and have an older brother who tries to be my voice of reason/guiding light.  He set out on his own when he was in his teens, and made a good life for himself taking on EMT jobs and working ridiculous hours of overtime.  Flash forward 25 years and I'm now his target for life enrichment.  He'll tell me to shop at Good Will to save money, and encourages me to enroll in schools out of state.  Those are great tips, but when he told me to join the Peace Corp. I realized that he may just be talking out of his ass.

And I'd just like to say, that my brother is awesome and helps our family out as much as he can financially, but for the most part, we were never really close.  He was always like a second father to me, mainly due to the age difference, but also because he has his shit together better than my father ever did, and so I looked up to him as a pillar of strength.  My own father is so like me, fucked up and confused, that there is a greater bond and, dare I say, love between us than for someone whom showed up intermittently in my life and never seemed to have an internal struggle with who they were, he just knew and did.  So now that I'm older, he is trying to build this adult friendship with me and it's like hanging out with your judgmental father; it sucks.  But I truly want him to be proud of me, because like I said, he's a father figure, while my own father would be proud of me with whatever I did.  My brother just wants more out of me, and I know that he's pushing me for the right reasons, but I'm overwhelmed as it is taking care of two elderly parents, that I can't take anymore of his high hopes for me.

My point is that there are limitations to being a poor female in this world, with no degrees and no talent.  I can write well when I care to (I don't care to write well here, be happy I put apostrophes where they belong), I can sing decently but I'm no American Idol; my main talent is that I'm warm and friendly, and genuinely love others in a weird Jesus-esque way.  Besides that I'm pretty fucked.  Joining the Peace Corp. will not solve my problems, or let me see the world.  I do not want to build houses in Niger whilst getting ogled and sexually harassed because I have a vagina.  Men don't understand the fear most women have of being alone, unprotected and paranoid in a foreign country.  As Americans we are used to certain rights and privileges that you may not know DO NOT exist in other countries.  Women are foolish, stupid sex objects to most men in other countries, even HERE.  So to put me on a plane and ship me to a third-world country as a way to "see the world"?  No, I can see injustice on YouTube, thanks a million.

Because I feel this is the guy who'll rape me.

I don't like that my life lacks accomplishment to such a degree that others feel the need to give me life tips.  At the end of the day I'm deep and contemplative; I'm liberal and accepting; I'm loving and sensitive; I'm an Atheist who is spiritual; I'm fun and interesting and I don't need anyone to tell me how to finish this race I'm in, 'cuz I got it.  Praise the Sun.

Praise the motherfuckin' Sun!

So in summation, when you feel really lost, just look within yourself.  But know that when people start dropping coins into the coffee cup (filled with coffee, btw) you're holding, know that your life seems to others as shitty as it appears to you, and to get off your ass and get shit fixed.  The end, here's tunes.