So bgsuwoody asked me a question a few days ago

[JChebahtah]

This was one of my favorite posts from back in the day and I really would like to hear about this from some of the new Poolees and wannabes. There are a lot of good new Marines and now Recruits who posted here. I wanna see more.

I agree Woody. This is pretty darn moto here. (I'll try to keep it quick, yeah right). Here it goes:

Well. I've always wanted to join the military. My grandpa, dad, and uncle, were all in the Marines. All the men from that side of the family (uncles/cousins) are currently in the Army. In junior high it was the Air Force that got me, their commercials are pretty cool and I've always wanted to fly. Then it was the Army because I could be a warrant officer and not have to go to college. But then that fizzled away when I was in high school. In my junior year of HS I joined Navy ROTC. Our senior instructor was an amazing CWO-4 (ret) with the Marines. (Shout out to Gunner) Then I went to Devil Pups (holler if you're a fellow pup) which was an awesome experience. Then when I graduated high school I kinda lost the desire again, went to community college, eventually dropped out and was working full time. Around May of 2007 I finally realized that I was going to do something else rather than sit on my ass at a routine job, walked into the recruiting office and was pretty set on joining. My mom and that side of the family wasn't too keen on it, but my dad's was for sure. I just needed to lose some weight. It had been that "I think I'm joining the Marines" for a while when one day it just hit me that this is what I'm going to do, what I have to do. That was a great feeling to say "I am joining the Marine Corps". I never even met with other recruiters. The navy wasn't even considered because I was in NJROTC, Army is, well, the army, but the Air Force had me interested. I think logically I should be joining the air force, I love airplanes (live in the flight path of an AF base), but my heart is calling for the Marine Corps.

When people ask "Why?" I like to tell them that I heard the call and when they say "What call?" I say "Exactly." But really, there is just so much about the Corps that is amazing. Clearly the customs and traditions but I want to be part of something grand. And be the fewer of the few (female), as I heard one WM say.

I was supposed to go to MEPS this week but now I'm a sitting duck, broken collar bone and all but I will be a Marine, even if it takes another six months. My mom asked me a few weeks ago "Are you still thinking of joining the Marines?" and I just laughed. I guess she still has that little glimmer of hope to save her little girl from the big bad Corps. I'm definitely going to get in with the wing (heard you guys are great :]). I just can't wait to get back into PT and everything. It kills me that I'm losing so much muscle mass!! But you guys keep me moto.

I want to hear everyone else's "calling".

[JChebahtah]

I missed the time delay to edit my post and I wanted to add this...

At one of our classroom times at Devil Pups, Col. Blum said that when you die, on your headstone all you have is the little hatch mark from your date of birth to your death and it's only this big - and you better do something with that because that's all that will represent your life. You better make it count. That has stuck with me ever since.

Oh, and what President Reagan said "Some people live an entire lifetime and wonder if they have made a difference to the world, but the Marines don't have that problem." Pure awesomeness right there.

[bgsuwoody]

That reminds me a lot about Matthew Windham. On his headstone it says "Always Fulfill Your Hyphen" and that phrase and he himself are probably one of the biggest inspirations to many on this site. If you want some motivation read this post and the links to information about Matthew and his life and spirit

http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=50360

I may have gotten a little sidetracked, but its never a bad time to remember.

[marinepooly1361]

That quote about the Hyphen is pretty Moto.
Never heard it before.... think it might go somewhere on my myspace LOL

anyways my story:


So.... Im not one of those people who have always wanted to join the military since I was young. Sure, I used to play guns and look up to the men/women in the service, but I always had the plan to get an education... etc etc... Sophmore year, a buddy of mine started talking about joining the Marine Corps. (he ships this monday) and asked if I wanted to too. I wanted nothing to do with it then. Sr year, another buddy of mine was hell bent on joining, and met up with a recruiter. I started to consider joining then just because I hated my job, and I had just broken up with my girlfriend, so I really had nothing better to do. LOL About a month after he DEPped in I said that I wanted to meet up with his recruiter and see what he had to offer. He explained to me the different programs and MOS's that I could choose from. I asked him what the engineers do and this is EXACTLY what he said "From what I know, they draft, and survey stuff like that..... and blow stuff up".... granted most MOS's probably blow stuff up because they are the Marines.... come on... So I told my parents when they got back from vacation (I met with my recruiter when they were away so I wouldnt have to hear them *****) and they were WAY skeptical. They wanted to know why i chose the Marine Corps. and I my response was, I dont want to sit behind a desk in the Airforce, Navy uniforms are gay, and I didnt want to join the Army because of the lax rules and regs. The Marines is what I wanted and nothing less. Honor Courage Commitment


I know its long and lots of detail... But I'm at work and extremely bored

[Brandon1]

Well my story all started on June 20th 1997 I was 8 years old. The day my brother graduated from boot camp. Just sitting up in those stands seeing all those new Marines marching by and seeing my brother after it was all said and done the pride and happiness on his face just triggered something in me and I wanted what he had so bad so I said to all of them "One day were all going to be here again but next time i'm going to be wearing that uniform". We'll skip all the way to 16. I never lost interest in joining the Marine Corps infact I would talk about it daily to my parents. But one day my dad and I got into a HUGE fight and he kicked me out of the house. So 16 years old I was out on my own and had a full time job. At this point I just couldnt juggle school and the job so I had to drop out. I tried to stay in school as long as I could but it just wasnt meant to be. Even though I was out on my own I never lost interest in the Marine Corps. Never even wanted to be anything else but a Marine. Nothing else seemed appealing to me. So now we'll skip today i'm 18 now still kickin it out on my own with a friend in a 2 bedroom apartment and I was in the process of getting my GED but that went bye bye when I talked to the recruiter. He suggested a online high school to get my diploma. I'm pretty far behind because I didnt even finish my freshman year of high school. It will be tough it's going to be a challange but I can do it and i'm gonna do it in 2 months. I have to lose 15 more lbs before I can join DEP. So that is another goal of mine and I will accomplish that before I get my diploma. I'm shootin for the end of the month. So reason is I just want to feel a sense of pride and what it means to belong somewhere. Become something great and live forever. I can do all that by becoming a Marine. Becoming a Marine is my dream it has been my dream all my life. I never strayed away from it never not once. Honostley I dont have the blessing of my family except for my brother and mother. My dad (Who is a Marine by the way) says i'm stupid and making a horrible decision and I will regret it for the rest of my life and I wont even make it past the first week of boot camp. I dont need to yell at him and ruin little of the relationship we have left but use his words as motivation all throughout not just boot camp but my life. I strive on people saying I cant do something. It's what I live on. I dont get angry when people talk down to me instead I use it as motivation and just replay those words in my head until I achieve what I am doing and so on. When I get my diploma I will be the first person in my immediate family to get it. So that is motto enough. So thats my story in a nutshell I hope I was clear on my reasons for joining. Simple reasons but VERY strong to me.

[SAD]

This is a great post.

Everyone has told their story so here's mine. To start like many of you I always thought of joining the Marine Corps while growing up. I guess it's part of having a dad who was a DI, being born on a Marine Corps base, and living in Parris Island, lol. I always "thought" about it but I never actually considered it.

I was always a slacker in school, the kid who sleeps everyday, wakes up gets a A on the test, then goes back to sleep. I don't know how many teachers I ****ed off just because they knew I could do the work but never would, lol. I've always wanted to go to college and still do, I guess I consider my self an intellectual and most other people consider me one also.

Anyways after many fights with my father, telling him there is no damn way I'll join the Marine Corps, my senior year came. I got straight A's with shocking ease (public school needs major reform) and graduation started coming up. I started to think about what's next? I saw a commercial and it hit me "I'm going to join the military". The problem was what branch. Well I searched and finally decided on the Coast Guard, I called the recruiter and he was a complete dick.

After calling him and researching I got a call from my Marine Corps recruiter, who although being told I was going to join the Coast Guard, decided to come to my house so I could practice the ASVAB. I accepted his help and thanked him and continued on my way when it hit me, "Why not join the Marine Corps, I have no discipline and they will surely help with that". So I called the Marine recruiter and asked him about jobs, found a few I liked and DEPped in.

Just the decision has made me a more driven person, I already see a change. I got a lot of support from my dad obviously but not much from anyone else. Luckily they knew I made up my mind and have helped me since.

Anyways I guess I joined the Marine Corps for the pride and the discipline and I know they will help me achieve both, they already have.

[KRenee87]

Well, my turn.

I never seriously thought about joining the military until my late teens. I remember getting diagnosed with my irregular heartbeat when I was 15 and being told to go take all of these stress tests and things like that. After the cardiologists said I was fine, I decided to not do the rest of the tests because I didn't want them in my record! Plus at the time I was a fat body (like 190lbs) so that added to the stress on my heart. I was getting sick from a crap diet and dropped out of HS in my Sophmore yr. It was the best thing that ever heppened to me.

What?

I lost 30+ LBS in 3 months (plus another 20 later on), gained back so much confidence about myself and finally started to step out of my quiet shell. I started to get to know 'me' if that makes any sense. That same yr in 2004, my older brother died and I really got a reality check. I remember my parents telling me I changed so much during that time, I matured in a matter of weeks. After that, I returned to school, and finished HS in Oct '05, just a few months off of my real grad time after taking darn near two years off. At that time I didn't dare think about leaving home for the military or college out of state. I decided to start college in Fall '06 and until then spend my time working in Louisiana living with my Dad. I decided on a whim to take the ACT test and scored good. So I started college in NC and it was... okay and free lol. Fast forward to this summer. I decided I wanted to join. Why? I remember seeing my Mom's old P.I. graduation book and seeing her picture in it. Simple as that. Me and my Mom had the talk about which branch I was thinking about. When I said the Marines, her face was priceless. After I explained that it was what I knew, grew up around, and respected, she came around. Plus, I told her I've heard too many jokes about the other branches over the years to consider the others! Dad on the other hand was thrilled. More so than when I got into different colleges. They've both been a big help.

I know once I graduate from Parris Island, I'm going to have something that no one can ever take away from me.

[SlingerDun]

I wonder, what effect these stories would have if printed and handed out to D.I.'s...

Isrowei you reading these???

[HurricaneRJ]

I missed the time delay to edit my post and I wanted to add this...

At one of our classroom times at Devil Pups, Col. Blum said that when you die, on your headstone all you have is the little hatch mark from your date of birth to your death and it's only this big - and you better do something with that because that's all that will represent your life. You better make it count. That has stuck with me ever since.

Oh, and what President Reagan said "Some people live an entire lifetime and wonder if they have made a difference to the world, but the Marines don't have that problem." Pure awesomeness right there.

You make a great point there. No one knows what holds in the future, we all have are dreams, and we all have goals. It's important to know that we have something to look forward too, we know what we want out in life. I still see guys I graduated with have no desire to do anything, don't want to do nothing, and always wanting something.

People have good intentions, they just lack the desire to overcome fear.

[JChebahtah]

I know once I graduate from Parris Island, I'm going to have something that no one can ever take away from me.

People have good intentions, they just lack the desire to overcome fear.

Exactly.

I wonder, what effect these stories would have if printed and handed out to D.I.'s...

Isrowei you reading these???

We'd get owned that much more!!


I'm loving all this. Where's everyone else?

[HurricaneRJ]

It's 0200 in the morning, don't expect too many people to wake it up.

[JChebahtah]

It's "only" 2300 here.... Well it'll be in bold and ready for more when everybody comes back from saturday morning PT! Hah!

[Danman]

Well I Guess it is my time to tell my story.

It all started one day in April '07 I was at a baseball game and this Army Cpl. a recruiter called my cell asking if I would Like to meet with him and discuss my plans for the future. Well at this point I was all inline to go to Norwich University a Mill Collage in VT. So I thought to my self what the hell, I guess I will talk and see what the army has to offer and get there point of view, Since I wasn't sure on what branch I wanted to join (Army or Marines).

So the day comes and I'm talking with the Cpl. for a good 2-3 Hours trying to find out all my options. so yeah the Army woo. I leave the office In a confused state not knowing what to do.... then when I'm walking to my car I see a Marine Sgt. standing there in his Office window with his Blues on. I did a about face and walked right into the office and said "I WANT TO BECOME A MARINE"

We talked for a while he gave me some info and told him I couldn't leave in the summer because of Hockey and told him Ill be back Mid July. Well I kepped my word I walked into the Office July 20th and said "LETS DO THIS"
and I Dep'ed in 20070731. And haven't looked back since. My ship date is 20080107 and my Mos in the 02XX field. but kinda thinking of going 03XX well see.

Now Why did I choose the Marines?
Three words,
Honor
Courage
Commitment

Now I'm posting this on The Marines Beloved 232nd Birthday and just want to wish all the Veterans, Marines, Fallen Brothers, and Fellow Devil Pups A Happy Marine Corps Birthday and one day If I see you in a bar Ill buy you a round.

So for now,
Poolee Dan - Out

[SlingerDun]

My old stuff in blue: I wonder what effect these stories would have if printed and handed out to D.I.'s...Isrowei you reading these???

We'd get owned that much more!!

Perhaps, if one D.I. happened to read one recruits letter who happened to be in his/her platoon. And maybe some D.I.'s would rather not be reminded that recruits are human who have dreams and goals and a life before they landed on the yellow tracks, it could complicate things and interfere with the transition and might even be against the rules. Some might wad them up and toss it in the trash as soon as the Lt. walked away and snicker behind his back. And they would all wonder, whats up with this??? freaking letters from bleeding heart home??? So maybe its not a great idea, but i'm pretty sure the non mental midgets could handle it without getting perturbedor turning into a creampuff.

[TobyMAG]

My story:

I used to be afraid of being drafted when I was a little kid. Things changed and I realized that life isn't interesting until you put it in danger (may sound a little morbid but I feel that it is 100% true). Anyways, I imagine myself at 80 years old, and I will be dissapointed if I can't tell my grandkids some pretty badass stories.

I am going to my recruiter Tuesday and we're going to get me down to Milwaukee to sign the papers.

-Tim