"Why join the Army?" is a question I get a lot. It's surprising that I still have trouble answering it. The problems stems not from the fact that the reason is itself elusive, but from the fact that the reasons I have do not seem to convince people that I have good reason. It is a strange question, I feel, because it almost always is accompanied by a condescending demeanor. It's as if the one proposing the question feels that I have made a mistake and that he or she knows better and is hoping to make me understand. Like a child who draws on the wall with crayon, expecting me to realize the mistake I made in conversing the reason for the action. It's often difficult to articulate the reasoning for joining, but in a dialog with a friend today I found some method.
The conversation I was in was, of course, why am I joining the army? I thought a moment and explained that I understood I had nearly finished college and that I could get my degree and get a job in a few years, but I that I was not ready for this. I fear, almost more than anything, "growing up". I do not mean getting old, for that is inevitable, but getting to the point in life where I must conform to the average middle class (if I'm lucky) American life. I am afraid of falling into the rut of "wake, work, sleep" that we are all expected to, like cogs in a terrific machine. I do plan on finishing school, which should only take two or three semesters more, during or after my service, and I look forward to becoming a teacher some day. I just am not ready yet, and wish to experience a bit more of life before becoming a powerful example for students.
Experience is another major factor for joining. I believe the point, the most quintessential objective, of a human life is to experience everything it can. Learning from these experiences is the reward of having been through them, and knowledge is the greatest gift we can receive. To obtain knowledge we must either have something explained or demonstrated to us, or we must experience something ourselves. Through personal experience we learn the most, and for this reason I wish to experience service in the military. It will be a mixed experience, great feelings of joy and possibly the most wretched feelings of despair, but in the end all will become knowledge, and all will become part of me. I feel I am prepared to handle these and that doing so will make me a better person, will allow me to appreciate everyone and everything around me better, and to eventually be a respectable model for students to learn from.
Being a teacher is another reason I would like to serve. Having been through school at all levels I realize how much of impact a teacher has on a young persons education. I know from experience that I learned better and worked harder in classes taught by teachers who I could respect. I had many great teachers, people who I may never meet again but who have helped sculpt me into the person I am today. This power that all teachers yield is great, and must be used appropriately. I feel that if I can better myself by experiencing some of the things that the Army promises, I can better earn the respect of my future students and in doing so better teach them.
So there are a few of my reasons for joining the Army, hopefully explained in an understandable way. The experience of serving will surely teach me a lot, and I hope that I am better off for having it after it is over.
