Since graduation this past spring, I have had to come to terms with the fact that the world now considers me a grown-up (to use a term that only non-grown-ups use). I am no longer a student (in the formal sense), but I am also not a working adult. I always assumed that by this point in my life I would have a plan and a "real" job. Instead, I am beginning the first steps down a different path. For the next year, I will be volunteering in New Orleans with a program called Young Adult Volunteers (YAV for short).
As a recent grad, I am constantly being asked "So, what are you doing now?" and "What jobs are out there for philosophy majors?" Most of the people asking have never heard of YAV. The easiest way I've found to explain it is as Presbyterian Americorps. YAV offers sites all around the country and the world. Along with the year of volunteering, YAV includes an intentional community. All the volunteers from one site live together as a community. Though I've been doing a lot of reading about the program, and I've talked to former YAVs, I am still not sure what I have lies ahead of me. I've never even been to New Orleans before!
