Choices
Growing up, I never considered myself to be the smartest kid. But I knew I wasn't dumb. I took advanced classes and none of them seemed very hard so I just figured out what I needed to do to get by and that's all the effort I put in.
In high school I was lazy and didn't study. I just wanted to cruise and chase girls. Towards the end of high school, I didn't know what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I joined the military for several reasons and a major one was the fact that I couldn't come up with anything better to do. I really had no direction or preference on what career path I should be taking or which college I should go to.
It only took ten years of service but I believe I've figured out my career goals. I know its kind of sad that it took so long but that's where I'm at. The first step was getting out of the military. I spent ten years doing a job I had very little interest in. There were some aspects of being a Sonar Technician that appealed to me, but it was a daily struggle to stay motivated. I got to the end of my enlistment and faced a major decision: 10 more grueling years to retirement benefits or get out, go to college and pursue a career of my choice. I chose the latter and there has not been one second of regret.
Now that I'm back in school, I really love it. I care about my grades and I study. I do homework and pay attention in class. I feel like I have a purpose and see the big picture. I'm not going to school because I have to but because I want to. Its not just a means to an end but something that I enjoy. I find it interesting to see how many of my classmates don't take class seriously and can see myself behaving the same way over a decade ago.
One good thing that came from going on deployment was catching the enthusiast bug. Lots of guys had laptops and I would borrow one every now and then so I could play games. That was the beginning. When I got back from deployment, one of the first things I bought was a desktop computer. It was a Gateway and I spent a lot of time playing games on it. Then I transferred to a different duty station and ended up working with several guys that were into gaming as well. I learned how easy it was to put a computer together and decided that I would be a good project. I started reading computer magazines and joined an online message board. I was well on my way.
It has only been a few years but my interest for computers has not faded. On the contrary, it has become one of my two passions along with basketball. I'm pursuing an MIS degree and starting my professional career from scratch. But its something that I've chosen to do and this time I know where I'm going.
In high school I was lazy and didn't study. I just wanted to cruise and chase girls. Towards the end of high school, I didn't know what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I joined the military for several reasons and a major one was the fact that I couldn't come up with anything better to do. I really had no direction or preference on what career path I should be taking or which college I should go to.
It only took ten years of service but I believe I've figured out my career goals. I know its kind of sad that it took so long but that's where I'm at. The first step was getting out of the military. I spent ten years doing a job I had very little interest in. There were some aspects of being a Sonar Technician that appealed to me, but it was a daily struggle to stay motivated. I got to the end of my enlistment and faced a major decision: 10 more grueling years to retirement benefits or get out, go to college and pursue a career of my choice. I chose the latter and there has not been one second of regret.
Now that I'm back in school, I really love it. I care about my grades and I study. I do homework and pay attention in class. I feel like I have a purpose and see the big picture. I'm not going to school because I have to but because I want to. Its not just a means to an end but something that I enjoy. I find it interesting to see how many of my classmates don't take class seriously and can see myself behaving the same way over a decade ago.
One good thing that came from going on deployment was catching the enthusiast bug. Lots of guys had laptops and I would borrow one every now and then so I could play games. That was the beginning. When I got back from deployment, one of the first things I bought was a desktop computer. It was a Gateway and I spent a lot of time playing games on it. Then I transferred to a different duty station and ended up working with several guys that were into gaming as well. I learned how easy it was to put a computer together and decided that I would be a good project. I started reading computer magazines and joined an online message board. I was well on my way.
It has only been a few years but my interest for computers has not faded. On the contrary, it has become one of my two passions along with basketball. I'm pursuing an MIS degree and starting my professional career from scratch. But its something that I've chosen to do and this time I know where I'm going.
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