Every day of my life I have woken up to the sound of Reveille, and gone to bed listening to Taps. I have moved nine different times, know the feeling of having my dad deploy more than four times, and eating Thanksgiving dinner in a DEFAC is second-nature to me. Being an army child is a huge part of my life, however it does not define who I am; it has shaped how I view the world. Because of my life as a military child, I have determined that I am compelled to positively influence how others view life. My earliest memories can be found at the hands of paperback novels. Books were my escape from the world around me. The thrill of being able to leave behind the world and it’s baggage and enter another that books provided captivated me, and left an impact on me. The emotion I experienced solely from taking a small step into another person’s story was unlike any I had felt before. I desperately wanted others to feel what I had felt, and love whatever I had become entranced by with the same passion as I did. As I grew older I realized that the desire I had was not only to communicate emotions to others, but to do so in a manner that would improve their own life. I began to sing with my youth group praise team, choir, …show more content…
Coming from a military family, enduring through tough situations was not a foreign concept to me. Living on military bases my whole life around such like-minded people had left me in a mindset that most people also felt the same way. As high school progressed, the number of people I interacted with who had experienced multiple challenges that broke them apart at a young age was astonishing to me. I learned that many of these people did not have the skills needed to cope with adversity, and that setting an example sometimes was the best way to help them move forward with a different perspective on their
If my origin story was a movie, the opening scene would be my discovery of books. It’d be a wide shot of me as a roley, roley toddler, as I reached out to one of my brother’s old picture books. And as I grasped the cardboard cover open, I was swallowed up by a moment of true epiphany. I can only imagine such a dramatic beginning as being dignant about what would be my lifelong obsession. As I grew up, I ate through books quickly, always craving that fantastic feeling of being completely absorbed into a world outside of my own.
The New York Times Bestseller We Were Soldiers Once... And Young was authored by Lt. General Harold G. Moore and Joseph L. Galloway. In November 1965, Lt. Colonel Harold Moore commanded the 1st Battalion, 7th cavalry at the Ia Drang Valley-one of the bloodiest battles of Vietnam. He eventually retired from the Army in 1977 after thirty-two years of service. After his military career, Lieutenant General Moore resided as executive vice president for four years at a Colorado ski resort before founding a computer software company. Harold Moore currently lives in Auburn, Alabama and Crested Butte, Colorado.
My little sister and I were taught to stand up for what’s right and to respect ourselves. We were taught to respect our parents and to never let the good ol’ American flag touch the ground. I’m blessed to have been raised in a military home. It has made me into the person I am today. Military brats, that’s what many call us, the children who are raised in military families. My father, Jason Swartout, entered the United States Air Force when he was 18 and my mother was 16. He and my mother were just kids. They suffered through the hard times and the distance between the three of them. My mother was living with her parents in North Carolina, with my oldest brother Andrew, he was then just a baby, while my dad was stationed at the Delaware Air Force base. Later, my second brother Austin was born, then I came into the picture on January 22, 1999. I was born on Fort Bragg Army Base, in North Carolina. My dad and I were and still are two peas in a pod. Both very stubborn, yet gracious and caring. We are both emotional when it comes to family and our amazing country. I always knew I wanted to follow in his footsteps in some way. I hope to make him
Ever since I was a child, I've never liked reading. Every time I was told to read, I would just sleep or do something else instead. In "A Love Affair with Books" by Bernadete Piassa tells a story about her passion for reading books. Piassa demonstrates how reading books has influenced her life. Reading her story has given me a different perspective on books. It has showed me that not only are they words written on paper, they are also feelings and expressions.
I hear the galloping hooves of horses coming from behind me, echoing through the quiet Arlington National Cemetery. I hear people crying for the loved one they had recently lost. I take in the sight of the horses and the proud, glorious men that ride them as they pass me ever so slowly. The medals adorning the gentlemen glisten in the sunlight along with the casket that follows behind. It is the most spectacular sight. I never could have imagined a field trip to Washington, D.C. to feel so somber. But yet, I would never exchange this gloom building inside of me for any other feeling in this world. This feeling gave me hope. Hope that future generations to come would know what this dignified American war veteran did for their great country.
Richard Wright, in his essay “Discovering Books,” explains how reading books changed his outlook on life and eventually his life itself. The first book that widened his horizons was an overtly controversial book by H. L. Mencken. I have a story not so dissimilar from his.
Andy grew up as a military child and he assures, “Being in a military family I can appreciate the veterans and their families more.” (Moore) Military children recognize the importance of sacrificial service that their parent committed. This ensures parents that raising a child in the military can help develop an appreciative, respectful, and prideful child by experiencing and interacting within the military lifestyle. The military provides a strong structure or values and traits that promote a healthy development of characteristics for
After learning how to talk, I found that singing was something I really enjoyed. Music has helped me to express myself. I have
In the year of 2013, my dad was called to deploy, along with his squadron, to go to war in the Middle East. Even though it was three years ago, I still remember it vividly. My dad had gone off to the squadron to prepare, and my mom was in the playroom, trying to console me, for I was crying so much. When your dad leaves to go to war, it’s a big deal. Anyway, we eventually rode out onto the taxi way, where we watched the jets take off. They looked so much more powerfull now that there was such reason behind them. After we went back home to go to sleep, my mom woke us up and we heard the jets flying off to war, and they sounded so powerful. “That is the sound of freedom”, my mom had said. This quote by Kellie Pickler justifies this: “My grandfather is a retired Marine, and I’ve always had a great deal of respect for anyone who serves our county.” These are the people whom we need to recognize, people that work hard to keep our country the land of the free and the home of the
I remember vividly, scrolling through the isles and shelves of books looking for my next adventure. I had already read Swiss Family Robinson, and Robinson Crusoe, so I regarded myself as an accelerated reader compared to my classmates, but the task I was about to undertake would prove far more daunting than anything I had attempted thus far. As I walk throughout the isles I see the books getting thicker and thicker. I thought to myself that maybe
While we were incredibly fortunate enough to escape the war, we continued to carry the trauma and distress of war well into our time in America, as several of our friends and relatives remained in our war torn hometown. I was too young to remember the trauma caused directly from the war that my parents are doomed to live with, However the pain of having to hear my mother sobbing through the night over the death of her sister is beyond enough to remind me of the tremendous opportunities I have been given here in America. My family was extremely fortunate to escape the war, but it would not have been possible without the best resource of all, my parents. The amount of steadfast, unconditional commitment which my parents had and continue to have for our family is beyond my level of comprehension. After escaping the war my parents were dedicated to giving our family an improved life compared to the one we left in the DRC. This dedication to a higher quality of life is the reason why my siblings and I have the opportunity to attend a university and accomplish something with our
When I was seventeen I nervously traveled about 350 miles from my sleepy little home town of Freedom, Wyoming to the relatively enormous city of Boise, Idaho to go to the Military Entrance Processing Station. This wasn 't the first time I had been this far from home by myself, but it was the first time I was making adult decisions without my parents involvement. When it came time for me to choose my job in the army the counselors presented me with a long list that I qualified for. I got tired of scrolling and reading so I chose the first job that I actually understood. I returned home and excitedly told my parents that I would be an infantry soldier. My dad 's response to this might be considered a little less than heart warming “You dumb ass. Why didn 't you choose
If one were to look at my varied reading habits, they would be struck by the diversity and over all unusualness of my mind’s library. I hardly remember the plot of the first book I read, but it was called Lonesome Dove. It wasn’t the actual first book I read, but I don’t really count the McGregor Readers from kindergarten. I read it in first grade because of my Grandmother’s fascination in the T.V. mini-series that was playing during the time. I wanted to be able to talk to her about it so I went to the public library that weekend and picked up a copy. Well, I actually didn’t pick it up, it was too heavy. It took me over two and a half months to read, but with the help of a dictionary and my grandma, I finally read it from cover to cover. I can’t really say that I understood it, because I don’t recall what it was about. But I do remember that it was quite an ordeal. Since then I have read many books. I enjoy fiction the best, especially those that are based on society, but have a small twist that leads to an interesting story. Some of the stories that I remember best from that early time in my life are Tales from Wayside Elementary School, Hatchet, The Godfather, and The Giver. I think that Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen, is the only book that I’ve read more than once. I liked the situation that Brian was put into, lost in the wilderness, with nothing more to fend for himself with than his mind and a trusty hatchet. The adversity he faces and his undying drive are what fascinated me most. Since that time my reading habits have grown into a different style. I have usually only read what was assigned to me during the school year because that was all I had time to do, but I have always strived to put forth extra effort. For example: last year for English 3 AP we had to read an excerpt from Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography. Although that we only had to read a small bit, I checked the entire book from the college library and read it all. Although the way that Franklin rambled on and on about his “Franklin Planner” was somewhat boring, the way he describe his life was pure poetry.
As the bus entered the heavily guarded military instillation, I gazed upon the sign that read, "Be All that You Can Be." When the bus stopped, several angry Drill Instructors boarded and began introducing us to a very colorful vocabulary, usually reserved for drunken Sailors. They instructed us to gather our belongings, get off the bus and assemble in a circular formation. As I searched for the strength to get up, I found myself moving, while several Drill Instructors yelled at us for our clumsy attempt to dismount the bus and fall into formation. I wondered if I had made the right choice. However, I have come to realize that my military experiences have tremendously enhanced my self-worth. From those first eight weeks of Basic Training to the day I walked out with an honorable discharge, I gained an enormous amount of skill and confidence. I grew as a person, and I learned life skills: discipline, tenacity, leadership, and problem solving abilities, all of which will enhance my potential as a student.
I grew up in a small town and after I graduated high school I wanted more in life than a 9 to 5 job; I wanted to see the world. I had a few friends that had joined the military and had come home to visit with exciting stories about their experiences. I noticed a change in a few of them; they seemed to walk a little taller, maybe act a bit more mature. This, along with the intrigue of life outside of my small town, drew me to consider joining the military. I met a recruiter in Lakeland Florida in July of 1989 and a few months later on September 26th I raised my right hand and took the Oath of Enlistment. I had no idea what I had gotten myself into.