It all started on a Monday morning, the day before I left for the ride of my life. I have known this day was coming for a year and I was excited, nervous and terrified all at the same time. Was I making a big mistake, selling my life to the government? Or was I doing what was right for my country and giving myself so people could be free? I met with my recruiter and he put me on the Rochester Direct shuttle bus with Christopher. Chris and I would go and share our excitement and nervousness about joining the Air Force.
We got to the courtyard Marriott and my biggest thing was just getting in my room and chilling out. I met my roommate she was joining the Air Force as well. It was great to talk to her, she was really nice and her dad was also in the Air Force at one point in his life. .
I had a hard time sleeping. All I could think about was if I was doing the right thing? Would I have been better off just going to college? We live in hard times now days, churches burning, planes falling from the sky, murder. It's a scary world out there. And I was getting ready to put myself in a position to risk my life for my fellow Americans.
I went down for breakfast, watered down eggs, with cold sausage and some milk. Not quite what I"d call the breakfast of champions, but I was hungry and not picky. The dining room was crowded and full of worried men and women. No one could have been over the age of 22, but they were all ready to do what they had to do to make sure America stays the safe great nation it is. Some of them laughed, some of them just sat alone and poked at their food, seemingly uninterested in it all.
The room starts to clear as people head out and wait for the bus to take us into M.E.P.S. (Military Entrance Processing Station) so we could have our last physical before we got onto our planes to fly off to our respected training bases. A few get in a group to enjoy their last cigarette for at least a few months.