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Whenever I start getting a little depressed or feeling sorry for myself, I go and read military news and blogs/letters from our guys serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And you know what, it helps give me a better perspective on things. Sure my family is/has fallen apart, yes the money situation sucks, yes its sucking big time getting ready to leave San Diego and all my friends, etc etc. But none of it compares to the sacrifices these guys have made. The fact that they live each day not knowing if they'll see another, many have lost good friends...brothers, missing their loved ones and seeing horrible things day in and day out that when the chance to rest comes they cry themselves to sleep...and there's no shame in that. And what do you hear most often when one of them gets injured and shipped out country? "I just want to get back so I can help my brothers". Call it Bravery, Fidelity, Duty, Integrity, Responsibility, or a foolish proof of manhood, they have earned our support and thankfulness.
I've told a lot of you, my friends, that I'm considering joining the Air Force, Navy, AF/Navy Reserves, Air National Guard, or Army Corps of Engineers somewhere down the line. This is something I have and am still spending a lot of time considering and doing soul searching over. I've gotten the impression from a few of you that you think this is a whim of mine, or that I've got some heroic romanticism for the military. Believe me I've considered both possibilities, and ruled them out to my own satisfaction. Among my motivations are:
1)Cliche as it sounds, I want to see how much I can be; be able to push myself to the limits and come out the other end. I don't want to regret later in life never truely testing my character and resolve. When I have my own family, I want to be able to tell my children what I did with pride and instill them with a love for their country; not just tell them I was a computer programmer who paid the bills.
2)I want to serve my country in a non-ambiguous way. Growing up in the US of A we take a lot of our freedoms and opportunities for granted, without considering the sacrifices that were and ARE STILL made to preserve those freedoms. Yes, it could be argued I could serve my country just as well in a civilian commercial role, but I would like the opportunity to serve in a more direct role.
3)Lets face it, as an engineer I will never have the opportunity to play with the really big, cool, crazy, classified toys unless I am a senior defense contractor or in the military. I'd rather not delegate myself so soon to a stuffy cubicle farm. As an officer I would have opportunities before me that I could only dream of as a civilian, and upon discharge would be one up in the workplace
4) Coming out of 5 years of college, not having a strong family to look to, finally starting to be able to respect myself for what I am instead of what I was "supposed to be", and building a true identity for myself, I feel I really need a solid worthy goal for myself. Something that will encourage me to push myself and really get my life together over the next year or whatnot.
Does this mean for sure that I'll be joining up sometime in the next couple of years?
No, it doesnt; for all I know by the time I really get my shit together I may realize my life is complete without serving in the military. On the other hand if we have a draft I'll most likely be joining up soon rather than later ;). But for now I feel this is a good goal for myself, and I hope you my friends will respect that, and support it if you feel so inclined.
Whenever I start getting a little depressed or feeling sorry for myself, I go and read military news and blogs/letters from our guys serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And you know what, it helps give me a better perspective on things. Sure my family is/has fallen apart, yes the money situation sucks, yes its sucking big time getting ready to leave San Diego and all my friends, etc etc. But none of it compares to the sacrifices these guys have made. The fact that they live each day not knowing if they'll see another, many have lost good friends...brothers, missing their loved ones and seeing horrible things day in and day out that when the chance to rest comes they cry themselves to sleep...and there's no shame in that. And what do you hear most often when one of them gets injured and shipped out country? "I just want to get back so I can help my brothers". Call it Bravery, Fidelity, Duty, Integrity, Responsibility, or a foolish proof of manhood, they have earned our support and thankfulness.
I've told a lot of you, my friends, that I'm considering joining the Air Force, Navy, AF/Navy Reserves, Air National Guard, or Army Corps of Engineers somewhere down the line. This is something I have and am still spending a lot of time considering and doing soul searching over. I've gotten the impression from a few of you that you think this is a whim of mine, or that I've got some heroic romanticism for the military. Believe me I've considered both possibilities, and ruled them out to my own satisfaction. Among my motivations are:
1)Cliche as it sounds, I want to see how much I can be; be able to push myself to the limits and come out the other end. I don't want to regret later in life never truely testing my character and resolve. When I have my own family, I want to be able to tell my children what I did with pride and instill them with a love for their country; not just tell them I was a computer programmer who paid the bills.
2)I want to serve my country in a non-ambiguous way. Growing up in the US of A we take a lot of our freedoms and opportunities for granted, without considering the sacrifices that were and ARE STILL made to preserve those freedoms. Yes, it could be argued I could serve my country just as well in a civilian commercial role, but I would like the opportunity to serve in a more direct role.
3)Lets face it, as an engineer I will never have the opportunity to play with the really big, cool, crazy, classified toys unless I am a senior defense contractor or in the military. I'd rather not delegate myself so soon to a stuffy cubicle farm. As an officer I would have opportunities before me that I could only dream of as a civilian, and upon discharge would be one up in the workplace
4) Coming out of 5 years of college, not having a strong family to look to, finally starting to be able to respect myself for what I am instead of what I was "supposed to be", and building a true identity for myself, I feel I really need a solid worthy goal for myself. Something that will encourage me to push myself and really get my life together over the next year or whatnot.
Does this mean for sure that I'll be joining up sometime in the next couple of years?
No, it doesnt; for all I know by the time I really get my shit together I may realize my life is complete without serving in the military. On the other hand if we have a draft I'll most likely be joining up soon rather than later ;). But for now I feel this is a good goal for myself, and I hope you my friends will respect that, and support it if you feel so inclined.
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