Caitrin Coccoma, a current JV in Portland, OR answers the question: Why did you decide to do a second year of JVC Northwest?
“Every time I set out to answer that question I go through a whirlwind of emotions. Excitement mixed with nostalgia. Simply put, I decided to apply for a second year because I knew my JV experience would feel unfinished at the end of just one. This is not because my current experience has lacked something. On the contrary, it is because this year has been so remarkable that a second year seemed like a natural next step.
I have been blessed this year by a supportive and loving community, an exciting placement and a plethora of opportunities for personal and spiritual growth. I have learned to see the person behind the addiction, the poverty or the homelessness. I have grown to consider my community-mates – people who were strangers barely a year ago – to be as close as family. But while I will always look back with fondness and appreciation, I didn’t want my JV experience to be isolated to the time, events, and people specific to this year.
Certainly, there is a small part of me that is nervous about tempting fate and wonders if it’s possible to be so lucky a second time around. But another opportunity to engage daily in those four famous values will help solidify the place I hope they will have in my life after JVC Northwest. There is no doubt in my mind that next year will be different, but it is that difference that will allow me to go deeper in my understanding of myself and my role in the world.”
