Parks
05-28-08, 12:47 AM
...for Haynes, who refuses to give up.
The Background:
I grew up in Texas (Fort Worth, specifically) and was raised a good Texas girl, i.e. to believe in God, Country, and most importantly, Texas and the Alamo. My family was very proud of our strong military tradition, even if we weren't really allowed to talk about it because it upset my grandmother (her father died on D-Day). So even though I was expected to go to college, it was perfectly okay that I had set my heart on Norwich Univeristy to participate in their ROTC program (Texas A&M was out because my father went to UT). Well, several family issues later, I decided to move to Oklahoma and live with my mother to finish out the last year and a half of high school in Stillwater. At this point, I must point out that up until then, my grades were bad. Horrible. So bad I even failed religion. (Yes, I did have to repeat it.) My SATs were okay, aced the English, failed the Math, but scholarships were almost totally out of the picture.
Climax:
The family issues that led to my moving also made Norwich hard to attain since the family I had alienated was the wealthier side of the family. This noted, I began looking into other options. After looking into pretty much every college I could afford, I determined that the thing I was really wanting was a military type challenge. It didn't take long until I was researching the Armed Forces. (At this point, I again have to interject another personal point: I love to research. I'm actually kind of obsessive that way.) I spent weeks reading everything I could about the military and the different branches. I figured out right off that the Navy wasn't a good fit, if only because I look horrible in white (laugh, go on, I know you want to, but it's completely true). The Air Force was out because they had an identity problem. And finally, I nixed the Army because they were just too big and didn't have the brotherhood that I saw in the Corps.
Branch decided, I had to figure out how to break it to my parents. I decided on the slow approach so I wouldn't overload them with too much at one time. A few weeks in to August, I told them I had decided to join the military. They were slightly shocked. My step-dad is in the news business and we watched CNN at dinner time, so my decision to join the military during a war was not really logical in his mind, especially since I had made it clear I was a very strong Democrat. My mother just cried and told me I was getting to get myself killed. Many Kleenaxs later, it was agreed upon by them that the only branch I was allowed to join was the Air Force because it was the safest option.
I employed my family's longtime motto (Tis Better to Ask Forgiveness than Permission) and decided to skip the second part about joing the Marine Corps.
This settled, I made a trip to the Air Force recruiting office and started the enlistment process, taking plenty of time to lose paperwork and ask questions I knew the answers to. Since I had told my parents I was in no hurry to join, waiting until my birthday at the end of October was perfectly logical. By the middle of October I had contacted the Marine recruiter and after a short battle for dominance, had begun the enlistment process for the Corps. I spent a week and a half sneaking across town to finish paperwork for the Corps before my brithday finally arrived. Finally, I told my parents I was going to MEPS. Now, I would like to point out that at no time did I lie to my mother about joining. I'm rather proud of that myself. I made an effort to never specify what I doing, just using general terms. Even when I left for MEPS I said I was just going to the processing station to enlist in the DEP, which all branches have.
Anyway, I walked into my house the next day wearing my poolee shirt with a Marine on either side of me. Needless to say, my parents were a bit shocked.
Conclusion:
My parents took it all pretty well and they're even rather proud now that their girl is going to be a Marine. It took me a few weeks to tell my father though, which was the best part of the entire process. He had been rather upset at me because I had been considering A&M for money reasons, so when I told him I had joined the Marine Corps, he just let out a big sigh of relief. Apparently, anything is better than being an Aggie. And he's the most vocal supporter I have actually, always wearing Marine shirts and boasting about how his daughter is a Marine. I keep correcting him, but he says it sounds better than saying I'm a Poolee. Oh well, I leave in August so he's only going to be wrong for a few more months.
The Background:
I grew up in Texas (Fort Worth, specifically) and was raised a good Texas girl, i.e. to believe in God, Country, and most importantly, Texas and the Alamo. My family was very proud of our strong military tradition, even if we weren't really allowed to talk about it because it upset my grandmother (her father died on D-Day). So even though I was expected to go to college, it was perfectly okay that I had set my heart on Norwich Univeristy to participate in their ROTC program (Texas A&M was out because my father went to UT). Well, several family issues later, I decided to move to Oklahoma and live with my mother to finish out the last year and a half of high school in Stillwater. At this point, I must point out that up until then, my grades were bad. Horrible. So bad I even failed religion. (Yes, I did have to repeat it.) My SATs were okay, aced the English, failed the Math, but scholarships were almost totally out of the picture.
Climax:
The family issues that led to my moving also made Norwich hard to attain since the family I had alienated was the wealthier side of the family. This noted, I began looking into other options. After looking into pretty much every college I could afford, I determined that the thing I was really wanting was a military type challenge. It didn't take long until I was researching the Armed Forces. (At this point, I again have to interject another personal point: I love to research. I'm actually kind of obsessive that way.) I spent weeks reading everything I could about the military and the different branches. I figured out right off that the Navy wasn't a good fit, if only because I look horrible in white (laugh, go on, I know you want to, but it's completely true). The Air Force was out because they had an identity problem. And finally, I nixed the Army because they were just too big and didn't have the brotherhood that I saw in the Corps.
Branch decided, I had to figure out how to break it to my parents. I decided on the slow approach so I wouldn't overload them with too much at one time. A few weeks in to August, I told them I had decided to join the military. They were slightly shocked. My step-dad is in the news business and we watched CNN at dinner time, so my decision to join the military during a war was not really logical in his mind, especially since I had made it clear I was a very strong Democrat. My mother just cried and told me I was getting to get myself killed. Many Kleenaxs later, it was agreed upon by them that the only branch I was allowed to join was the Air Force because it was the safest option.
I employed my family's longtime motto (Tis Better to Ask Forgiveness than Permission) and decided to skip the second part about joing the Marine Corps.
This settled, I made a trip to the Air Force recruiting office and started the enlistment process, taking plenty of time to lose paperwork and ask questions I knew the answers to. Since I had told my parents I was in no hurry to join, waiting until my birthday at the end of October was perfectly logical. By the middle of October I had contacted the Marine recruiter and after a short battle for dominance, had begun the enlistment process for the Corps. I spent a week and a half sneaking across town to finish paperwork for the Corps before my brithday finally arrived. Finally, I told my parents I was going to MEPS. Now, I would like to point out that at no time did I lie to my mother about joining. I'm rather proud of that myself. I made an effort to never specify what I doing, just using general terms. Even when I left for MEPS I said I was just going to the processing station to enlist in the DEP, which all branches have.
Anyway, I walked into my house the next day wearing my poolee shirt with a Marine on either side of me. Needless to say, my parents were a bit shocked.
Conclusion:
My parents took it all pretty well and they're even rather proud now that their girl is going to be a Marine. It took me a few weeks to tell my father though, which was the best part of the entire process. He had been rather upset at me because I had been considering A&M for money reasons, so when I told him I had joined the Marine Corps, he just let out a big sigh of relief. Apparently, anything is better than being an Aggie. And he's the most vocal supporter I have actually, always wearing Marine shirts and boasting about how his daughter is a Marine. I keep correcting him, but he says it sounds better than saying I'm a Poolee. Oh well, I leave in August so he's only going to be wrong for a few more months.