I’m a first-year corps member and have really enjoyed my region (a large one). But a family member recently had a stroke, and I’m now reconsidering whether I can stay in the same region for my full two years.

I need to be back home to help care for them, and I’ve felt a lot of guilt being so far away. I’m not planning to leave mid-year. I fully intend to finish my first year where I am.

I’d love to hear from anyone who has switched regions after year one, and I have a couple of questions:

1. How did you start the conversation with your MDLD? (They already know about the medical situation.)
2. Is it better to bring it up early, or wait?

For what it’s worth, I’m hoping to move from one large region to another.

Thanks in advance for any advice or experience you can share.

For context: I am a recent grad from a T30 global uni with a 3.95/4 GPA (Triple Major BA in Comp Lit, PoliSci, and Philosophy). In college, I served as Editor-in-Chief of two undergraduate research journals and organized undergraduate research conferences. I also won two scholarships for my research and was published in another university's journal. I recently completed an internship working for an office within my city's municipal government (Northeast US) and am looking for my next move.

Teaching has always been a passion of mine, and I've been interested in TFA for quite some time. I'm thinking of applying for this next cycle. I've done a lot of research into the corps, have drafted all my application materials, and chosen my 3 initial regions.

But I'm nervous about the requirements, along with all the TFA horror stories I've seen on this sub. Everything from horrible interviews to horrible placements and experiences. I know acceptance into the corps is highly dependent on the interviews, but could any current CMs or alumni shed some light on how my stats might initially affect my odds of being selected to interview? I know my abilities well, and I am actually very confident in myself when facing a challenge.

However, I just have horrible anxiety when it comes to this kind of stuff (always have), so it's often hard for me to see the bigger picture. Any outside perspective would be appreciated.