Marine Corps - USMC Community - My Military Transition
  • My Military Transition

    Transition in the military is difficult for everyone whether you have been active duty four years or twenty-five. I think what we fail to realize while we are toward the end of our military career is that transitioning continues even after our active service is over. For me, I thought that I had it all figured out. It turns out that I was completely unprepared for what was to come.

    Leaving the Marine Corps after two enlistments was bitter sweet. On one hand, I was so excited to begin a new chapter in my life’s journey, spend more time with my family and reinvent myself. Inside I was freaking out; I would continue asking myself if I was making the right choices, what would I do if I were to fail or if I just can’t hack it as a civilian. I took the leap of faith knowing that I am blessed to have a supportive family to stand behind me.

    What I was not prepared for was the emotional roller coaster of completely re-inventing myself. Initially, I thought that I had to be everything to everyone, which also made me lose sight of my identity. Who am I if I am not a Marine? This was a question that I struggled to find the answer to for months. I became anxious, unhappy, isolated. I was constantly encountering so many people who I felt couldn’t understand me. I was surrounded by many and yet felt completely alone.

    I woke up one morning and realized that I was settling for mediocre. I was compromising my values to support the agendas of other people. It was the moment that I realized that everything that made me successful in the Corps, would be the same things essential to my success as a civilian. And then I focused my attention inward in order to become the person I wanted to be, again.

    So many journeys of our brothers and sisters are not as simple as mine. Although I am still learning my place in this world, I have recognized one thing. It is important that we support one another even when our military careers come to a close. “Once a Marine, Always a Marine.”