PrairieAir
03-19-2008, 12:55 PM
I had an interesting discussion just a while ago with one of 17yods' friends who has been staying with us. He told me that he is thinking of joining the military because he doesn't know what else to do. Like ds, he will be graduating this May.
I remember how much pressure those last few months leading up to graduation can be! Kids, especially boys it seems, feel the need to have the rest of their lives figured out right now. They don't want to be working the same dead end job they worked through highschool and making minimum wage a month after they graduate.
Of the kids that are college bound, so many have no real idea why they are going to college; they just feel that is what is expected or what will give them a better future.
The military draws a lot of the kids who are not college bound. Some of those kids may really have a desire to join the military (and some may join for the college benefits), but many are drawn to it because they feel the need to make some sort of decision. It seems to me that rather than making a decision, some are just avoiding making a decision about their lives for the next four years by handing that decision making power over to someone else.
This is not a slam against the military! I have a lot of respect for people who serve in our military. I just don't think it is a decision to enter into lightly or for lack of knowledge of what other options there might be. If you join the military, you should know you want to be there and you should be prepared for the possibility of being sent into very dangerous places to do very ugly things.
There's more to the friend's story. Ds' situation is a little different. He's said he wanted to be a Marine for so long, I think he feels he can't go back now even though he seems to be wavering in his decision.
With that background, let me ask you all a few questions.
1) If you were young, single, and free what would you do?
2) If all of the above applied and you didn't have a clue where your life was going or what you wanted to do, what would you do? What would be a good plan for figuring out what you want to do?
3) What would you tell your children if they were in the same position?
Now, I'll tell you what I told ds' friend.
I told him entering into the military could be a good choice, but it was not a decision to make lightly. He'd better be darned sure that's what he wants to do for the next four years and that he is willing to do whatever it is he is told to do.
I also told him that if I was graduating high school in a few months and didn't know what I wanted to do, I would probably travel. I would work odd jobs to get me from one place to the next and I would go places I've always wanted to go and try different things. Safely and legally of course. I told him now is the time to do these things, before he has a family and a career and responsibilities.
He of course wanted to know how you could do that. He wanted to know what kind of jobs, where would you sleep (spend all your money on hotels or sleep on park benches?), how you could make sure you would have food to eat. Well, I don't know. I never did it. I got married almost straight out of high school and started having kids. So, maybe I know a whole lot of nothin', but that's what I would do if I was back at that time and place in my life and dh was not in the picture. Maybe that's foolish.
I'll add two more questions.
4) Does anyone know how a young person could do this?
5) Have you ever done something similar, and what are your experiences?
I remember how much pressure those last few months leading up to graduation can be! Kids, especially boys it seems, feel the need to have the rest of their lives figured out right now. They don't want to be working the same dead end job they worked through highschool and making minimum wage a month after they graduate.
Of the kids that are college bound, so many have no real idea why they are going to college; they just feel that is what is expected or what will give them a better future.
The military draws a lot of the kids who are not college bound. Some of those kids may really have a desire to join the military (and some may join for the college benefits), but many are drawn to it because they feel the need to make some sort of decision. It seems to me that rather than making a decision, some are just avoiding making a decision about their lives for the next four years by handing that decision making power over to someone else.
This is not a slam against the military! I have a lot of respect for people who serve in our military. I just don't think it is a decision to enter into lightly or for lack of knowledge of what other options there might be. If you join the military, you should know you want to be there and you should be prepared for the possibility of being sent into very dangerous places to do very ugly things.
There's more to the friend's story. Ds' situation is a little different. He's said he wanted to be a Marine for so long, I think he feels he can't go back now even though he seems to be wavering in his decision.
With that background, let me ask you all a few questions.
1) If you were young, single, and free what would you do?
2) If all of the above applied and you didn't have a clue where your life was going or what you wanted to do, what would you do? What would be a good plan for figuring out what you want to do?
3) What would you tell your children if they were in the same position?
Now, I'll tell you what I told ds' friend.
I told him entering into the military could be a good choice, but it was not a decision to make lightly. He'd better be darned sure that's what he wants to do for the next four years and that he is willing to do whatever it is he is told to do.
I also told him that if I was graduating high school in a few months and didn't know what I wanted to do, I would probably travel. I would work odd jobs to get me from one place to the next and I would go places I've always wanted to go and try different things. Safely and legally of course. I told him now is the time to do these things, before he has a family and a career and responsibilities.
He of course wanted to know how you could do that. He wanted to know what kind of jobs, where would you sleep (spend all your money on hotels or sleep on park benches?), how you could make sure you would have food to eat. Well, I don't know. I never did it. I got married almost straight out of high school and started having kids. So, maybe I know a whole lot of nothin', but that's what I would do if I was back at that time and place in my life and dh was not in the picture. Maybe that's foolish.
I'll add two more questions.
4) Does anyone know how a young person could do this?
5) Have you ever done something similar, and what are your experiences?