There I was, a nervous 18 year old kid straight out of high school on a bus heading towards Lackland Air-Force base, being yelled at by multiple drill sergeants telling me how much my life is about to change and how worthless I was, with colorful language, usage and combinations I've never heard of. I looked to the guy sitting next to me, and without words being spoken we understood what the other was thinking; "what did we just sign up for?" The next four years was what I needed to prepare me for college. .
That bus ride to boot camp was my first taste of the military. It is so vividly engraved in my mind and has been a roller coaster series of events ever since. Joining and being a part of the United States Air Force has been the toughest choice in my entire 21 years of living. I had just written a blank check payable to the United States of America up to and including my life without hesitation. That was until I recently received and email stating that I needed to make a decision whether to sign the dotted line for my country for another four years or be honorably discharged, and be on my way to the civilian world. I spent countless nights thinking this over. For the past three plus years, the military has been my entire life; all that I live, eat, and breath was military. With that being said, I realize that education is the most important thing in a person's career, and I have made the decision to leave behind my second family and life in the military to join the life as a civilian once again. The sergeants in all three of my units, tried countless times to persuade me to stay in. Almost every single military personnel I have come across, preached and warned me that the "civilian life is too hard, there's no jobs, and the economy is terrible." This certainly put a lot of doubt in my mind and frightened me. But I have learned to push through the doubt and fear.
