At age 20, I was tired of living at home and jumping from one low-paying retail job to the next. I was concerned about paying for the classes I was taking at Pierce College in Lakewood, and I found myself dissatisfied and bored with my civilian life. I wanted to go places and to see things I had never seen before. I wanted to meet people and do things most of my friends would never be able to say they had done. I wanted to get out of my comfortable environment and experience the world outside the state of Washington.
Even though I had not yet contacted a local recruiter, I worked hard to prepare for the Army. I ran and went to the gym almost every other day. When I first started exercising, I could hardly run a mile, and pushups were difficult for me. I hung out with friends who were already soldiers and absorbed their knowledge and stories about their military experiences.
One day in the fall of 2014, I saw two soldiers standing behind a table they had set up near the school cafeteria. I knew they were recruiters, so I approached the table and asked them a few questions. From there, I was invited to the Spanaway Army Career Center. The noncommissioned officers at the station helped me get the job I wanted: public affairs specialist. I chose the job because it's what I was going to school for at the time and it was something I had always been interested in. It seemed like the best fit for my personality and skillset. I had always loved writing and I am by nature a 'people person.'
I joined the Future Soldier Program at the Army Career Center and started getting even more serious about enlisting. I met with the NCOs and other future soldiers at the center usually twice a week from April until July for training and exercise. In June 2015, I finished my associate's degree and received a promotion from private to private first class before shipping out to basic training.
Because of the training I had gone through in the previous months, I felt ready for the physical and mental challenges I knew I would soon face. In retrospect, I think I might have been a little too confident. In late July, I arrived for basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, feeling as though I knew everything. A week later, the serious training started and I realized just how little I knew about the Army and the person the military was going to mold me into.
Over the next 10 weeks, I found that the toughest parts of the training weren't the physical aspects. The most challenging part was dealing with a group of strangers with different backgrounds. At times, I wanted to hug some of my battle buddies; at others, I wanted to strangle them. There were many ups and downs during the training and I went through every one of them with my platoon.
I learned a lot about myself in those months. I learned how to stand up for myself when I needed to, and how to deal with difficult peers. I learned that even when a person thinks she has given all she physically can, there's still more strength within her. I learned to appreciate the simple things like sleep, food and a hot shower. I learned how to be more compassionate and less selfish. And I learned that every bad day or bad moment ends -- eventually.
I graduated from basic training Oct. 1, wearing my Army service uniform with pride. For weeks, I had trained to survive in a combat zone and kill enemies but the moment I saw my dad, I ran into his arms and bawled like a child. I wasn't the only 'crybaby,' though. He was crying too. My dad, who retired from the Army as a sergeant first class, told me that seeing his last name on an Army uniform again made him emotional.
I knew he was immensely proud of me but that moment made the challenges of being away from my family and friends and the corrective training from the drill sergeants completely worth it. I spent the day with my dad and my best friend and the next day I was on a plane to my advanced individual training at Fort Meade, Maryland. On Oct. 2 when I got to Fort Meade, I was shocked to find out that while the soldiers were given more privileges here than they were in basic training, there were more rules. A week later, I began my public affairs specialist training at the Defense Information School on post.
Although the school was filled with prospective broadcasters, artists, illustrators, videographers and equipment maintenance technicians, I knew I had picked the right job for me. I loved class. I practiced news writing, interviewing technique and photography. I loved being in a joint-service class because that meant having lessons with members of other branches, including the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Coast Guard.
Unfortunately, when we got to the feature writing portion of class, I struggled to grasp the concepts. In December, before holiday leave, I learned that I had failed the features block and I would have to redo it with another group of students. I was devastated and embarrassed when I went home for the holidays but my dad told me that I wouldn't be the soldier he thought I was if I just gave up. He told me he was proud of me and he supported me. Over the break I had many talks with my dad. In those, he reminded me about why I joined the Army in the first place. He encouraged me to go back to training and hit my studies even harder.
I returned to Fort Meade with a new focus and drive. All of my previous teachers were rooting for my success and I knew that many of the platoon sergeants at the Army detachment believed in me. I couldn't let them down. I went through the class again and even though I had already seen most of the course material, I tried to absorb everything I could from the lessons. I made new friends and had a great time. Things came easier for me and I was able to understand things I hadn't before. I was even able to lend my knowledge to other classmates at times.
On Feb. 19, I graduated from the Basic Public Affairs Specialist Course at DINFOS. I have orders to my first duty station, Fort Sill, Oklahoma. I'm not sure what to expect but I'm happy and relieved to have completed my training. I am a better photographer and writer than I was before. I feel confident in my ability to do my job for the U.S. Army and know I couldn't have made it as far as I did without the support of my father, my teachers and my platoon sergeants.
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