HOME | POLITICS | SPORTS | LIFE | SCI/TECH | OPEDS | HELPFUL TIPS
|
Aug 28, 2004 Sometimes you don’t realize what is happening to you, or why. There are all sorts of explanations from because you thought it would be a good choice to the will of God. However when the experience is over and the aftermath floods your life, and you know in the depths of your soul nothing will ever be the same... its intimidating, even frightening. Experiences come in all shapes, sizes and places. My life changing experience what at BMT. Basic Military Training, at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio Texas. I entered the Air Force to succeed, to change my life. I needed to pull out of the downward spiral that was sucking me down into the black hole full of minimum wage and do you want fries with that? Some things don’t go as planned. I got injured, a knee problem, and I began a much more severe downward spiral. One that threatened me with much more than a dead-end life behind a fast food counter. I couldn’t handle the pressure placed on my shoulders. This will happen to everyone at some point in their lives. To choke is human, to relearn how to breath is divine. I returned to my hometown, back to my old life... or have I? I still get up at 0400 every morning to do PRT (Physical Readiness Training), I still call everyone sir or ma’am, I still expect to see a IT (Training Instructor) every time I turn a corner. But to me the most important things I brought back from my three months in training (besides my combat boots) are the lessons I learned. I have learned responsibility for my actions, I have learned to open my eyes to the people around me. I have become a completely different person, for which I am profoundly grateful. I have military bearing and discipline, I have good manners, I have learned how to study, diet, even explain things properly. I’m honest, and blunt, I can tell it like it is. I’m stronger too, mentally and physically. True I left training because I couldn’t cope with the stress they threw at me, but the coping skills I did learn after I knew I had to leave will last me the rest of y life. In short I have finally become a competent human being. How many people can say that? At my age (18) not many. Sometimes after you have made a decision you realize that it wasn’t the one you thought it was, or maybe it turns out that it really isn’t a choice after all. But if you remember what you learned, and keep the knowledge you gleaned from it, then it was the right choice. Because if you didn’t learn new things, how could you grow as a person? ------------ About the author: Catherine Stone was recently discharged from the Air Force, and plans to return to school and get her nursing licence. Email: rumpleteaser0697@yahoo.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
||||||
|
|
|||||||
|
