So the eleven most exciting words popped up on my application status page this morning: “Congratulations! You have been invited to become a Peace Corps Volunteer.” It was January 2010 when I first contemplated joining the Peace Corps and it was March when I submitted my application. To think that I have come almost two years and my dreams are coming true is unreal.

I have been in this waiting stage for so long that I thought “maybe this is never going to happen.” I graduated from college with no management job offers but continued my current supervisor position with Disney while my other classmates took MiT positions. I did not want to make any job commitments with the hopes that I would be accepted into the Corps.

I received an email on Wednesday I had been placed in a program in Francophone Africa and I have to admit, I’m kind of in denial right now. With budget cuts and political turmoil, I’ll be honest, I saw my chances slowly slipping away. But this, this is real. I’m like a little kid in a candy store.

I cannot imagine what the next few months are going to be like for me. Getting everything ready, reading about my country–which I will not know until my packet comes in the mail (I’m hoping that is today)–and enjoying time with friends and family. I can’t wait for what’s in store!