#1 single off the Waste My Time mixtape
When I joined the Army, I thought I had it all figured out. I really didn’t. I joined the Army Reserves during winter break while attending Northern Illinois University (NIU). I needed money for school. Giving plasma every other day was becoming too dangerous and there were only so many case studies that the psychology department would pay you for in a semester. So, I decided to join the military. verything seemed like it would be fixed when I signed on the dotted line. It wasn’t an immediate fix though.
I joined the service in the state of Georgia, and I intended to join the Air Force like my older siblings because we grew up as Army dependents. Well, the Air Force at that time wouldn’t allow me to join until I dropped my freshmen, sophomore, and junior year 45lbs. Yes, I gained some serious weight while away at school. I left out of the recruiting office disappointed, but at that time all military recruiting offices shared a building. As I am walking out with my dad, an Army recruiter popped their head out of their office. They told me they heard everything that had been told to me by the Air Force recruiter. They told me you are within Army standards, so why not join the Army, get student loan repayment, and a bonus. That was honestly all I needed to hear. Also, my dad said he would be honored if one of kids followed in his footsteps. With that, I joined the Army; I shipped off to basic a few weeks later. After training, I returned to NIU. I ultimately decided to enlist active duty and finish up school using my GI Bill. I wasn’t completely focused at that time to finish out school at NIU. I enlisted active duty and picked Germany as my first duty assignment. Everything in between brought me to this point. This point of sitting in an empty transitional room until the shuttle arrives to take me to my new unit.
One of the most used skill sets I will have from being in the military is understanding what it means to truly hurry up and wait.
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