Once a Military Brat...

My dad is retired Navy. He was in for 20 years, until I was in high school. Throughout my life, my dad taught me a lot of life lessons and skills that I believe had a lot to do with his military experience. He taught my sisters and I some amazing work ethic, the importance of dedication and passion in what you do, and how to always follow through with your commitments. These lessons followed me, and to this day, even at 24 years old, I still live by one specific motto my dad taught me. He once said to me, "no matter what job you're doing, if I walk into your place of work, you better be the best and most hardworking person there."

I also grew up in the military community. There were always other kids around, my sisters and I were always outside, getting dirty, and having fun. We had so many friends going through the same things that we were, and honestly, I think it made us more empathetic to the new kids. We knew what they were going through, and my sisters and I were good about taking them under our wing, befriending them, and making sure they didn't feel like we did. Although kids are a while away in my life plan, it's definitely a community I would like to raise kids in.

Being in a military family, we moved a lot. I used to hate it as a kid, because I hated being the new girl at school all the time. Now that I've gotten older, I've grown to appreciate it, because it makes me so much more adaptable to change. We also had to deal with my dad being gone a lot. He got deployed fairly often, especially at the beginning of my life, and it was tough. But it made me cherish our family time even more. Because of this, I have a very close bond with my family. The lessons my dad taught me, although some pretty tough ones, have stuck with my whole life so far, and they have made me a hardworking, passionate, and adaptable person.

Of course, because of this, joining the military has always been a thought in the back of my head. When I started college, I looked into what the military could offer me in terms of educational support for pursuing veterinary school. I found out they had a scholarship through the Army, and although I didn't pursue it at the time, it remained a thought in the back of my head. Recently, however, I started thinking more about joining the Army reserves as a part time job, and even more recently, I started talking to a recruiter to get the ball rolling.

The recruiter gave me a lot of information, so much information that it was honestly very overwhelming. It did, however, give me a lot to think about. I went into my meeting with him thinking that I was going to join the reserves, and that was it. He gave me a lot of information on the benefits of going active duty, and they can offer me a lot of things that I didn't even realize. They have options for student loan forgiveness, tuition assistance, and my college degree gives me a step up in the whole process of enlisting. It also would give me a higher rank to start at, which includes higher pay.

If I'm being completely honest, it's the only thing I've been able to think about for the last couple of days. The thought of being financially stable is a huge thing for me. And honestly, it feels like the only way going to vet school would even be possible. I'm a realist, I know vet school is expensive, and the idea of taking out so many loans, even if it means doing what I really want to do for the rest of my life, is daunting. Going active duty in the Army feels like the right step for me right now.

Don't get me wrong, I know there is a lot of hard work and a lot of sacrifices that go into joining the military. I lived it as a child. Because of my dad's job, I had to make a lot of sacrifices. I saw a lot of the sacrifices my dad made, missing holidays and birthdays, and time with his family. But I also saw my dad being happy in his job. I saw him doing hard work, and I saw him come home and not dread going back to work the next day. I saw him getting along with his coworkers and working towards promotions. After he retired, I saw him working towards a college degree, and not having to take out a bunch of loans to do it. Now, my dad has his degree, but he also has a job in an office, and he doesn't always like going to work every day. Thinks weren't easy while he was in the Navy by any means, but he just seemed overall happier. And if that isn't proof enough that it isn't all bad, he's been very supportive of not only me, but my sister also, in our thoughts and steps towards pursuing a military career.

Trust me, I have by no means made a final decision yet. In all honesty, I have NO idea what I am doing to do with all of this information and ideas in my head, but it's definitely something I will continue thinking about, talking to the recruiter about, and thinking about if it would be a good step for me.

Stay tuned for the next step, because although I have no clue what it will be, it will be exciting nonetheless.