Is everyones family so destructive? Thank God for my friends.

I am going to preface this with one major thing: I AM STILL GOING TO THE PEACE CORPS.

So my brother told me to call him after work last night, so I did exactly that. I thought he wanted to talk to me about me staying with him next week. Instead, he wanted to yell at me for 1 1/2 hours and piss all over my Peace Corps dreams. He told me he's not going to come pick up my body when I die or get in trouble. He used our dead parents against me saying they wouldn't want me to go. He told me I need to get "a real job" and wants me to move back to NY, live with him, leverage my education, find a man, get married and have babies. He also said if I wanted to make a difference I could go to East Harlem and teach kids how to read, but to stay in the United States. He said I can't change anything in Belize. There are a lot more destructive things that were said, but I really can't handle going on with this negativity.

That is the opposite of everything I want for my life. I despise NY, I want to and am going to go the the Peace Corps because it is a real job, and it is MY job. I have been talking about this since I was in high school. This is the path I have chosen in my life, and it's really hard that so many people in my life cannot accept that this is a good thing. I'll get married one day, settle down and grow some roots somewhere, but now is not that time. I'm not ready to curl up and die yet.

Thank God I have so many amazing friends there to support me. Especially Meghan (my Meggles), who gave me the amazing advice that I need to stop letting toxic people "rent space" in my head and that sometimes "We have to make our own family". She's always been supportive and I know she always will be. Michael Allen, who told me to be safe and he knows I'll do well and Mike Carro, who is just a really supportive force for me. I have plenty of other supportive friends as well, and a few distant relatives (who I wish weren't so distant) are super supportive and loving.

I really wish I could shorten my trip to NY next week, but I know I have to find alternative sleeping arrangements, because after that "talk", I don't feel comfortable sleeping at his house. I'm sure I'll find somewhere to go. All of my friends are offering up spare bedrooms or couches.

Anyway, thanks for listening to my rant. I've got to get ready for work now. My face looks like I got beaten up, so that should mean a fun day at work.

I hope everyone has a great day.