Chronicles of Boot Camp
My life ultimately began on June 10th, 1993 my first day of boot camp. That date will always be the most meaningful for me. This was the day I entered the Army. This was the day that I was going to develop, hopefully, into a man and find some kind of structure to my life. Looking back I do not think that any other moment, up to that point, had as much significance for me. In high school I won state football championships, gone to at least four different proms and graduated. But this was a level of excitement and nervousness that I had never experienced before. Up until this point, I had never really finished anything that I had started. I knew that with hard work, determination and perseverance I would accomplish my goal. The goal was to finish boot camp and start my military career.
Even though it was sixteen years ago, boot camp remains a fresh memory. The busses were blue with blacked out windows. The country air was clean and fresh. My breakfast was twisting from all the nerves in my stomach. The bus ride felt like an eternity but it was only a swift twenty minutes. I arrived at Fort Jackson, S.C. eagerly anticipating the mental and physical challenges that awaited me. First, I got to meet my drill instructors. These were the three loudest individuals I had ever met. As much as I hoped they would tone down the volume of their voices it never happened. “Get off the bus and drop your bags!” they shouted at us. “Move over here!” one barked. “Put your arms up, now down!” demanded the other instructor. “Left, right, left, right, stop!” yelled yet another. At that point I was seriously rethinking my decision to join the Army. “What did I get myself into here?” I remember thinking. I was not ready for any of this. All I wanted to do was quit and give up right then and there. But there was no turning back or giving up. I signed the dotted line committing myself for the three years. I could only hope that...