Since my last post a lot has happened in my life... I joined the United States premier fighting force known only as the Marine Corps yes the same corps that so many movies are made about the same corps that all mothers dread their sons growing up and joining. I joined that Corps and since my life has never been the same.
It all started one evening sitting in my room at the University of Oregon. I remember sitting there with my laptop on one side and my desktop on the other, starring into my monitor screen wondering to myself what I was going to do with my life in the next 2 to 4 years. I had another 4-5 terms of college left to go and no motivation to follow through on finishing those terms with passing grades. I had hit an extreme low in my life when it came to motivation... I had direction that was the easy part I had my whole remaining career at school figured out the only issue was that I had no desire in carrying out that plan. Where was the source of this downturn what was the cause? I could probably speculate for a long time some might say it was the drinking and the partying. You might even speculate a sincere level of procrastination and laziness had come upon me. However the source is probably much deeper than that... I believe it was out of fear, fear that I would become something ordinary something normal.
All that doesn't matter know because that night I started looking up information on the Marine Corps website and studying up on all sorts of information about what they had to offer. I looked up several other branches as well but something stuck with me about the USMC they proudly displayed that they were different, that they were a cut above the rest. Now whether or not the Marine Corps is actually better then the other services is and argument that has been around for centuries and will continue for many more. About a week later I walked into a recruiting station in Eugene, Oregon. There I began to work with SSGT Tommy Choe on putting together my enlistment package. Tommy carried himself pretty well and had a good head about him. This came as somewhat of a surprise because I assumed that all marines where jarheads without much intelligence about them however I quickly saw that this wasn't so. While talking to Choe I began to realize that there was a side of the Marine Corps that I could actually identify with. Not more than a few weeks later I went up to MEPS Portland and enlisted in the DEP program.
On February 23rd I shipped to MCRD San Diego for boot camp... The rest is history, I only have a few things to say on the matter. 1. If you want to hate your life for a good 2-3 weeks go. 2. If you want to find yourself silently amused by the most random things and periodically question your sanity then go. 3. If you want to experience regaining your freedom after 3 months then go. (There is no experience like it, It is one of the few times in a Marines career where he will shed a tear or two)
After being released from boot camp I had 17 days of leave... with which I spent fairly productively hanging out with friends and family across Oregon.
On June 9th however I reported in to SOI West at Camp Pendleton Calif. I admit I was worried that I was in for another episode of MCRD. However Ill explain my relief in my next post.
