I was the first person in my family to graduate from high school. More than likely the only reason I graduated from high school at all was because I had promised my mom I would graduate, and I felt like I had to finish.
The Army’s motto at the time was “Be All You Can Be” and when I finished high school I felt like I was nothing. They also told me if I joined I would have the opportunity to travel the world. Because of the motto and the travel opportunities, I enlisted in the US Army a few weeks after graduation on June 14, 2000. My family was proud of this decision, and my mother was just happy I was doing something more with my life. I began to accomplish things I never thought I could do. The Army taught me to take more initiative and keep going. There were times when I failed or struggled, but I learned to always complete the mission in front of me.
During my nine years in the army, I lived in New York, North Carolina, and Washington State. I was also deployed to Iraq for 4 months in 2003. Going to Iraq was not the kind of traveling I expected when I enlisted before 9/11. When I got back from Iraq, they gave us 3 months of transition time to reintegrate back into the culture.
During this transition break, I signed up for my first college class at Central Texas College, African American History. I wrote an essay about the buffalo soldiers, and I actually enjoyed writing an essay and learning about the history and struggles that the soldiers endured.
The Army taught me work ethic and discipline that I did not have in high school. I made lifelong friends in the Army. I can go almost anywhere in the country and have a place to stay. But at the end of the day, I did not want to be a soldier my whole life. I hoped to one day have a family and I wanted to be able to always be there with my family. Deployments and other missions make that very difficult in the Army.
Run For Life 