Do one thing every day that scares you

This tidbit of advice was passed down from Eleanor Roosevelt via my parents on graduation – and I took it seriously.  I was focusing my job search on development positions in Latin America or California becoming a bit demoralized with the job search…but then I was offered a position with the UN in South Sudan – the world’s newest nation!

At first, I thought no way am I going to take a job in a post-conflict country and besides I don’t know anything about Africa!  Let alone have gone there!  I never saw myself working for the UN let alone in a place that was just coming out of civil war.  This isn’t the intended direction I had for my life!  But then as I started to think about it and talked with friends, professors, family, former co-workers, I realized this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.  When I realized the only thing holding me back was fear, I figured this would be a good way to get started on doing one thing everyday that scared me :-)