How to talk to my parents about enlisting as a current college student

[aformato26]

Hello All,

My Name is Augustino Formato and I am a new member to this forum. Over the past year is when I have been heavily considering enlisting. This is something I have always been passionate about and wanted to do, but I am from a family with very essentially no military background other than my great grandfather being in WWII. I am currently finishing my first semester in college as a freshman. I am 18 years old and I really want to sign. I have done all the research and I have been training heavily for a while. It really just now comes down to talking with my parents they are both very democratic people who really would just shoot down the topic every time i would mention it, but now I want them to know I am serious and plan on signing no matter what now that I am 18. It is just I don't know how to approach them with the subject because they both rant about the worry of me dying and recently my sister was hospitalized due to an unsuccessful suicide attempt so I don't want to just destroy my parents. All information and advise would be greatly appreciated. message me as well if you would like.

Thank you,
Augustino

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[irpat54]

first of all, not the best way but, if your parents keeps shooting down the conversation, then i think you need to ask your recruiter if he or she would mind coming over and talking to them with you, but advise hem or her as to the situation so they are not blindsided by any possible hostilities, that way when they see you with the recruiter they will be in full attention mode

or and this is probably the best method,, it is what I did when I wanted to join during the Vietnam Era.. I told them both that I wanted to join the Corps and I was going to and I hope you will give your blessings, I understand your concerns and take them to heart, but please know that I have a need to serve this great nation and will be trained by the best of the best on how to survive and flourish..

the bottom way is how I handled it and I believe that is the best way, be respectful to them they are concerned and just want you to be as safe as possible, but also be bold about your conviction..
best of luck to you, keep us posted.
Pat

[USMC 2571]

There are a lot of threads about this....quite a few. Do a search here.
No parent wants their kid in harm's way. That's natural. But neither should they live their child's life for him or her.

[USMC 2571]

Irpat gave you great advice

[irpat54]

There are a lot of threads about this....quite a few. Do a search here.
No parent wants their kid in harm's way. That's natural. But neither should they live their child's life for him or her.

lol,, how true that is,, I went through the same thing when my Daughter joined,, it seams that parents will be just that parents and want shelter there kids for all of their lives,, of course they will have to find their own way..

[USMC 2571]

Except for one thing. So called helicopter parents are far more numerous today than in yesteryear, hovering over their offspring like a helicopter, living their lives thru their kids, one mom here even wanted to send her son a training schedule so they could run at the same time every day.....so, yes, good advice to the young man. Outstanding advice, as a matter of fact, Pat.

[ameriken]

My question for Augustino is (since you're in this age group you may know how to do this), how do we talk to an 18 y.o. college freshman about completing college before enlisting?

[m14ed]

My question for Augustino is ,
how do we talk to an 18 y.o. college freshman
about completing college
before enlisting?

Ken says it well...
IF i had the chance to h ave gone to college
I might have considered the thought of trying
to be an Officer of Marines and a Leader of Men..

things were a little different in our times..
(Just a tad)
Todays world,
our MarineCorps ,
and our Country
could use more education....

Maybe you'd be smart enough
to do both ?????
College and the MarineCorps.

[devilbones2]

My question for Augustino is (since you're in this age group you may know how to do this), how do we talk to an 18 y.o. college freshman about completing college before enlisting?

What difference does this make? As you know there are many differences between officer and enlisted. Right now there are OCS candidates that are getting 300 PFT with a 3.78 GPA getting rejected. Maybe he cant afford college anymore or its just not for him. I would have done terrible in college if I went when I was 18. I am glad that I enlisted and I fully support people in doing what they want, not what others want them to do. With that being said I would heavily weigh your decision on whether or not to drop out of college to join. There are several opportunities to attend school while in, however the reality is you just may not have time. Good luck in whatever you do.

[PJones64]

What difference does this make? Maybe he can afford college and it is for him. I did well in college when I was 18.

[irpat54]

What difference does this make? Maybe he can afford college and it is for him. I did well in college when I was 18.

maybe he doesn't like college, or maybe he is not doing well, and maybe he wants to serve something bigger then himself, maybe he wants to get out and be on his own,,

[LCPL1341]

My parents were the same way when I told them. My mom was ashamed to tell ppl I was going into the military while my peers were starting civilian careers. She even went so far as to have our pastor try to talk me out of it. My dad eventually came around and was real supportive prior to me shipping. I straight up told them that I had my mind set on joining and that it was going to happen regardless of their objections.

My mom was against it all the way through my ship date. Once I left for bootcamp, she became supportive. When they see you walking across that parade deck on graduation and they see the change, they become real proud of you. Today, they tell people im a Marine proudly, they have the stickers on the car and everything. You just have to weather the storm for now, just know, IT WILL GET BETTER. If you're real passionate about it, just let them know you're going in regardless. I promise you, they'll accept it eventually.

[USMC 2571]

It's amazing but they do in fact eventually accept it, attending the graduation ceremony at MCRD.

But of course if a young person refuses to act on his or her own strong desires and doesn't want to oppose parental opinions, then there will BE no graduation ceremony to go to.

[ameriken]

What difference does this make? As you know there are many differences between officer and enlisted. Right now there are OCS candidates that are getting 300 PFT with a 3.78 GPA getting rejected. Maybe he cant afford college anymore or its just not for him. I would have done terrible in college if I went when I was 18. I am glad that I enlisted and I fully support people in doing what they want, not what others want them to do. With that being said I would heavily weigh your decision on whether or not to drop out of college to join. There are several opportunities to attend school while in, however the reality is you just may not have time. Good luck in whatever you do.

I said nothing about OCS, in fact I suggested completing college before enlisting.

The Marines will still be around in 3 or 4 years when he graduates, but the opportunity and motivation to complete college may not be. Nothing wrong with getting the degree out of the way and then joining, it just gives someone far more options in both the Corps and life.

[USMC 2571]

Absolutely right, Ken. Good advice.