I guess some things will never change. C and I will never stop periodically checking up on each other, most likely to see what we periodically say about each other.
Speaking of misinterpretations, there is a difference between quitting and simply never trying. Despite more adversity than most people have ever even imagined, I am still finishing my degree. I don't view my desire to live in different places and try new things as a negative. I may have bounced around a lot, but I am still reaching my goal. I just don't see any reason to limit myself.
I knew before I even signed the paperwork that I would not finish OCS if I went last May. I knew it. I was not physically ready. It would have been easy for me to stay on light duty for the entire first 10 days I was there and be sent home right off the bat. I had the opportunity to just pack my trash and walk out within the first two days. But I stayed. I stayed until I was literally falling apart at the seams. I stood up to my recruiter when he asked me to take the less than honorable way out. And you know what I got for it? Out of some odd 50 candidates, I was the only one invited back to OCS. And I will go back. As soon as this is published, I'll be out the door for a three mile run. I am no runner. Out of all physical activity, running is the most difficult for me. But I want to be a Marine, so I force myself to do this. I am not going to take the easy way out, I don't want the easy way out. I may not have finished OCS (I was on crutches and not even able to drive a car I was so broken when I got back, by the way) but at least I had the intestinal fortitude to try. And after receiving a serious beating, I genuinely want to go back. I have been face to face with the uglier side of the Corps, and I still love it.
I am not going to simply accept what life hands me. Ever. Life is too short to waste. So no, I don't see a whole lot of reason to stay at one school just because it is the common thing to do. I have no desire to pursue grad school and that doesn't make me a failure or a quitter, it makes me someone who is ready to dive into the real world. There are too many glorious adventures to be had for me to stay on one road.
I may have failed OCS, but at least I tried. And I'm trying again. I am putting myself through school to finish my degree. Doing things the traditional way is boring and easy. I'm going to take the untraveled path.
It's not that I have the potential to be more than a cashier, it's that I am more than a cashier. I am not the person who will be bagging your groceries any time soon.
And I don't work at Marbella, thank you.
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2 comments:
HAHAHAHAHAHA! so put THAT in your pipe and smoke it!
Someone called you a quitter? I am guessing it was someone who never even considered trying something "outside the box". Keep on trucking LT... You got it goin' on girl. A great sense of adventure combined with a real sense of responsibility is a rare and wonderful gift.
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