When I Joined The Army

Then I heard my mother crying and begging me to change my mind, stay there for a few years and go to the local community college. The look on my father’s face was a combination of pride, concern, and gloom. My mother again begged me to change my mind. When I said I would not, my decision was made. If they did not sign the papers allowing me to join, then I would wait until I was 18 and do it myself. My mother then left the table crying. That was the last time she spoke to me for nearly two weeks and the worst dinner we had ever had as a family.

So why did I join the Army instead of going to college? It all started when I was 17 and working at a local Go-Kart/Mini-Golf tourist attraction during the summer. Those were some good times, by the way. Decent pay for a kid, great hours, and many perks working at a tourist attraction back in Ludington, MI. That’s when I saw the recruiter for the first time. It was one of my days off, and I was at the beach to meet some of my friends. He walked down the beach in his dress uniform, talking to kids. His job was to convince people to join the Army, which is extremely difficult I bet. He walked up to me and gave me his standard talking points. I asked a few questions to be friendly, I was never planning on talking to him again, but I took his business card anyway. Again, to be friendly, like my parents taught me.

In a flash, summer came and went as it does that far north. My senior year of school started, and classes were going well enough. I never really studied hard, never really applied myself in that way. I threw more effort into cross country and track and field training than education. But, even with that, I still managed to have a GPA between 3.5 and 4.0 in high school. I was just lucky, I guess. I got along with nearly every group of kids and had great friendships. Something just felt…. missing in that last year. I felt like I needed something more, to be more, to go to more places, to challenge myself more. I thought that challenge would be college like most kids in high school. Even the idea of college seemed, well, boring to me. That’s when I started thinking about the Army I guess.

It is not that I had no other options. My grades were good; I had extracurricular activities, and I knew I could figure a way to pay for college with my parent’s help and some hefty student loans. I could have quickly done what many high schoolers do in that area: go to the local community college to get the general education out of the way and then transfer to a more prominent university. That saves a ton of money! I could have done that, but I felt like I wanted more. I was just not sure what. Just in case this was just my nerves getting to me, I started looking into the many colleges in Michigan. I even had some discussion about running for one on a trial basis, and if I did well enough, I could get a half scholarship. Yet again, something told me it was not my path. That nagging feeling in my head kept pointing me back to the Army recruiter.

I started meeting with the recruiter behind my parent’s back to make sure I was thinking of everything. I asked him so many more questions than I did the college reps. I quickly was sucked up into the idea of joining. So much so, I even started some physical training and some basic Soldier tests to see if I could go in a rank or two ahead of the other kids. The things that really sold me about the Army were the potential travel, free college, the training, the structure and well I would get away from Michigan.

I was a bit torn about when and how to tell people my choice. I was not comfortable speaking with my family or friends about this. So to delay that conversation as long as I could I would talk about colleges and what we thought about majoring in with my friends. Around my parents, I would talk about the same thing. I was giving them the hope that I was also going to college like my big brother. That was one of my parent’s dreams, I learned, for both my brother and me to go to college and get out of the county.

During all those months I spent talking about colleges and majors with my friends and family, I became more committed to joining the Army. Honestly, I felt terrible about not telling the people who loved me the truth. I felt wrong doing this, on the other hand, I wanted to make everyone happy. I wanted to make my parents proud that I was going to a college like my brother.

I believe I kept this up for two or three months. Meeting with the recruiter behind my parent’s back, lying to them and my friends about colleges I was interested in attending. I was just done though; it was so draining to hide my choice. I decided to tell my parents what I had been up to and that I wanted to join the Army. The only kicker is I needed them to sign a form to allow me to join since I was underage.

We sat down at the dinner table one night in January. I was nervous and scared they would be mad, but I had to do this. I just blurted it out. “I want to join the Army and not go to college.” It was like a slow-motion movie scene to me. My parents just stopped dead in their tracks, nearly frozen in time. I could see them thinking about how to respond. They asked me a few questions. They mostly settled around why I wanted to do that and If I understood it was dangerous. I told them I knew it could be dangerous, but I just wanted to do something other than going to college and have them spend money we probably did not have. Then I gave them the time-tested reason that kids give parents about joining the Army; all college classes are free. That seemed to ease them over some…ok, not really. There was a ton of back and forth; many words were said that I do not remember anymore.

(This is %100 true, by the way. Even after you get out, you have the G.I. Bill, which still makes it free, and you get a housing allowance on top of that. However, while you are in college can be hard to get in. Mainly due to the excessive partying Soldiers do on weekends and the fact that you have a full-time job too.).

After a few more tense and nerve-wracking minutes, which felt like hours, my mother broke down in tears and left the table. My father left shortly after to check on her. I sat there for a while, wondering If I had made the right choice. I wondered if my parents would speak with me again, wondering if I just messed up my life (interestingly, that last one is a thought Soldiers often have while serving, lol).

After a few weeks, my mother spoke to me again. Both my parents even agreed to sign the paperwork with the recruiter. When we were at the recruiters office I could have sworn my mother wanted to jump over the desk and punch the guy. In contrast, the look on my fathers’ face was one of pride at that moment. It was weird to see that combination on them; if any of them would punch someone, I always thought it would be my dad. Eventually, everything settled down, and my mother’s tears stopped flowing constantly. The next few months went by, and I graduated from high school. At the end of summer, I shipped out to basic training to start my new life. I was excited, nervous, scared, and I knew I had made the right choice (I think).

The day I left; it was non-stop tears from my parents. They were concerned and proud of the person I was becoming. They gave me every warning possible from a parent, too, while never letting me go. My brother gave me probably the best advice out of everyone. “Don’t take shit from no one!” I will never forget what he said between his tears (mine too).

Interestingly, my recruiter, a 14-year SSG in the infantry, gave me some advice before I shipped out, and I quote, “make sure you eat potatoes in training; it helps you shit on a schedule.” Ahh, the infantry, that lot has some serious bricks in their ranks. But they also have some of the most intelligent people I have ever met.

I interviewed my parents a few weeks ago about their thoughts and what they remembered to confirm my memories and try to find out what they were both thinking then. Of course, it turns out they were worried for me and wanted me to go to college. But they were both immensely proud of me, and they both told me they knew I was bound to get out of the county since it would never be enough for me. They knew that I always wanted to go somewhere, just unsure where. It turns out I went all over the world a few times over.

Anyway. That is a brief story of me joining the Army. Not the most thrilling, but it is mine. I am sure I glossed over some important things; however, these are the things I remember and know are accurate. I have a vague memory of the school packing the senior class in the gym and having students stand up when the college they were going to was named. Some strange attempt to both be proud of those young people who knew their college and at the same time apply pressure on those who either have not made a choice or decided not to go. Maybe that was in my head. Remember, I have had a few concussions and other TBI-related injuries.

So, if you are a parent reading this and your child wants to join the military, even the Space Force or Coast Guard, listen to them. Find out why they want to. Maybe they want to do something more, something different, or become someone better than what they think they are. The military will do that. And the benefits are truly phenomenal. I Go to the recruiter with them to hear the benefits yourself.

By the way, I did end up getting two college degrees and an undergraduate certificate while I served for free. I did not pay one penny, and I did not take one loan. But it took me a few years to stop partying and get serious about education. I needed to grow up and make some mistakes which I can not wait to tell you all about later!

Thank you, everyone, for taking the time to read this. If you enjoyed it please like and share to spread the message some. I hope you like Army stories because they only get crazier, wilder, and sometimes just unbelievable from here on out.