19 year old boy

Eleven days after I graduated high school I found myself wondering what I had gotten myself into. I was in Marine Corps boot camp and I couldn't remember why I had signed on the dotted line to put myself in this position. Yet, here I was. Up to that point it was the hardest 13 weeks of my life. One of the few things that kept me pushing forward was knowing that this was only going to be a "part time job." After training I'd get to live my own life! Get a regular job, go to school, and just have the freedom that we've all come to take for granted. Ten days before the commencement of boot camp, however, the terrorist attacks of September 11th changed everything. I received notice after my training that I was being involuntarily activated for a minimum of 1 year, with a possible extension. I had to drop out of school and, most importantly, give up the freedom I was so excited to have once again! The first six months of my activation were miserable. I had just turned 19 and I wasn't use to this sort of life. I felt like I wasn't free to live my own life. Not to mention the verbal abuse, peppery spraying, gas chambering, forced marches, and freezing temperatures that needed to be endured. I had never been so down in my life. I didn't feel like I was progressing. I felt so stagnant. I don't know what it was, but something motivated me to snap out of my funk after six months. I told myself, "You have six more months... lets make the best of it!" Compared to the first 6 months of training, the latter 6 months were much harder. Still, with my newly acquired positive attitude, the last six months were amazing. Easily among the best six months I've ever had in my life. It was this positive attitude that motivated me to become the best Marine I could be, and ultimately kept me alive in Iraq.
I've learned so much from that experience. As miserable as I was, I'm so thankful that I had the opportunity to go through that pain and suffering to learn that life lesson. Many of the people I know can vouch for me when I say it's difficult to catch me without a smile. There is always something to smile about... always! No matter how bad a situation might be, a reason to smile can always be found. That's simply the product of a lesson I learned as a little 19 year old boy.