Never had to tackle such a wide range of emotions
than in Liberia for my Peace Corps service.

Going in, I believed that development
work was going to be my life.

But even on the nights
when those cool Harmattan winds
would make themselves over the Sahara,
I'd lay under my mosquito net wide awake.

One day I asked my students "the question,"
What do you dream of doing?

Two years went by, and again
I was reminded of how beautiful,
people and life anywhere, could be.

And also how life really is
just one big damn lottery.

If I could ask my students again,
If you had the opportunity to go after your dream, would you go for it?

I know they'd say, "Yes, Mr. Fukuda - go racing."