Teens and the Military

Some kids are born to serve in the . They are raised in a military family, developing the military mentality and physique, and dedicate themselves to serve the country's needs above their own. I am not one of these kids.

Of course, I had no reason to be. I spent my childhood growing up in an era when most of the world hated America, when soldiers would come home missing limbs, and when I could probably out-spell the president in a spelling bee. No, patriotism was not my thing.

But my views started changing as I got older. My views on the military changed from disregard to admiration. My hobbies changed from writing fictional adventure stories to writing detailed outlines of the ongoing . My parents, needless to say, were alarmed.

They have the right to be. My father knows firsthand the challenges of military life, while my mother always looked at me as that nice, thoughtful type. They couldn't understand that desire I felt within me- desire to put myself in danger for the need of others.

Many teenagers feel the same way- while there are those who are clearly destined to enlist, others remain skeptical but refuse to let that desire burn out. They are determined to do something, but they're aren't sure what. These contradicting feelings can be extremely confusing- they were to me. I remember feeling like I was sort of lost, just walking around in an empty space debating what the right path was to take.

I still haven't found an answer. I've talked to some former soldiers, but their opinions never permanently sway me to either side. Sometimes I will completely abandon the idea of the military, but it always manages to find it's way back into my mind. I wonder what my future will be like- what if something goes wrong in the military? Or what if I don't enlist at all, but end up regretting it for the rest of my life?

If you know a teen who is going through this, I guess the best way to help them is to keep their mind open to all possibilities. There isn't much else you can do- the teen will ultimately make the decision by him/herself. Not too long from now, I will be the next one in line to make that choice- and even though I will do it by myself, at least I have people there to keep the doors open in front of me.