One Week Away

With only one week remaining until I leave for Navy Boot Camp, I've been looking back on how all this actually happened.

I've always been a water bug! I LOVE the water. Growing up my mom even said that I taught myself to swim after watching my older brother John in swimming lessons.

My interest in the military first came after seeing my brother Mike's Army picture hanging on the wall. I thought the uniform looked cool. My love for the Navy didn't come until I spent the summer between my Junior and Senior year of college with my brother Robert in Coronado, CA. I was a lifeguard in Sioux Falls the previous 2 summers but not sure what kind of summer job I'd get in CA. A few days after moving in with Robert, I met one of his neighbors, Masako. She just so happened to be the person in charge of aquatics at the MWR on the Navy base across the Coronado bridge. She interviewed me and gave me a job as a lifeguard. I loved going on base every day! Showing my ID at the guardhouse, listening to the national anthem play on the loud speakers every morning (and other Nation's anthems if they had a ship docked), seeing everyone in uniform, seeing the discipline, the camaraderie, and pride all drew me in. I was hooked!

My senior year of College I remember doing a few military inspired prints in my Printmaking class. Those were my favorites by far and I have them hanging in my room today. I wanted so bad to join the military but the war had just begun so I let fear dissuade me. I graduated and went along with normal life. I always had the military in the back of my mind. In fact, a few years ago I even went and talked to an Air Force recruiter in Minneapolis which is where I was living at the time, but nothing ever came of it.

Finally, after several major life changes, I ended up in Sioux Falls with no job, single, living with my parents, and bored out of my mind. One day when driving around looking for a job it hit me... go talk to the Navy! I found out where the recruiting station was and paid them a visit. I knew from the moment I stepped into their office it was meant to be. In about a month's time, I had all the paperwork filled out, gotten my physical, picked the exact job that I wanted, and got sworn in. My only disappointment was that I had to wait three months before leaving for boot camp. Turns out everything happens for a reason. In that three month time period I was able to help my parents with some projects around the house, spend time with my brothers and sisters, and be there when my dad got the call for his new heart!

As I prepare to leave, I feel confident that everything that needed to get done this summer got done. I'm looking forward to this new chapter in my life, and excited to see what's in store for me.