My Passion - redux

Anyone who would not take up arms in defense of freedom does not deserve to live in a free country. This is a philosophy I have lived by my whole life, and has inspired me to enter the Army after school. Growing up, I heard stories from my grandmother who survived both World War II and the Communist takeover in Czechoslovakia. I realized that no matter how safe I think I am, life as I know it can change in an instant. It has become my goal, my passion to see that if life changes, it changes for the better, and I can think of no better place to do that then in the American Military.

Like any young boy, I grew obsessed with "playing army". For me, though, it went much farther then most of my peers. I had a cousin my same age that shared my passion, and any time we got together we ran to the hills to shoot the bad guys. As we grew, so did our intensity. Our weapons went from our hands to sticks, to cheap plastic toy guns, to pellet guns, and finally to the real guns. Our uniforms went from blue jeans and a t-shirt, to earth colored clothes, to old Army field uniforms. We learned to love the outdoors; dirt, plants, trees, all the creepy critters. We loved it all.

After our parents called us in, evenings we spent hours watching war movies. While the movies served more to entertain, they still sparked our interest in history. We would complement what the movies taught us with our own research in books and on the internet. History soon became one of my favorite subjects in school, where I continued to study about man's continuous struggle to secure freedom for him and his family.

Running around with my cousin was fun, and created many great childhood memories, but I didn't learn much that would truly benefit me in the Army. My Boy Scout career was short-lived, and I continued to search for an organization to help me. I thought my search would end up fruitless, until I found out about Civil Air Patrol. As official Auxiliary of the US Air Force, its Cadet Program is geared towards preparing America's youth for Military Service. I fell in love with the program, and progressed rapidly. After four years, I became a cadet officer, which only about 1 in 10 cadets do, and took command of my squadron. As Cadet Commander, I am charged with training the roughly 30 cadets in my unit. I had finally found an place where I could prepare myself to serve my Country.

My intention is to become an officer in the Army, so that requires a college degree, which requires a good resume in high school. Good grades are necessary to get into a good college, so I pushed myself academically. I took 3 Advanced Placement classes as well as 2 Honors classes, passing them all. The Army is looking for well-rounded individuals to be the leaders, so I joined the Cross Country and Track teams. While I never was as fast as the crazy-athletic kids who had played soccer since they emerged from the womb, I motivated myself and ran hard for myself and the team.

Though I am not in the Army yet, I have not and will not loose the dedication and desire to do so. I will continue to push myself to do everything I can to prepare for a challenging, though rewarding career. Christ said "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13, and that is one of the hardest Bible quotes to live up to, but the reward is the greatest.