'Bout Damned Time

“Do today what others won't, so tomorrow you can do what others can't.”
Unknown

Well, it's official...I am officially a member of the US Armed Forces...I enlisted yesterday, Wednesday, 05 Oct 05, into the United States Army as a 96B - intelligence analyst...I signed for five years (although it's really eight, and if you think otherwise, you might wanna recheck that...) and received a $12K bonus...

So...that's the technical, nitty-gritty of it...What about me, personally...

Oh shit, I keep thinkin' I fucked up somehow...First of all, I wanted 37F (PSYOPS) in the worst way...Don't get me wrong, 96B was on my list and will still provide me with the training/experience in the intel field that I wanted...But, damn...I keep wondering if I shouldn't have just held out for 37F...I think part of me signing was a hesitation to go back home without a job for the second time...*sigh*...I also should have pushed for things like station of choice and Airborne guaranteed to me...So right now, I don't know how I really feel about the whole situation...All I know is that I don't feel as proud as I should...I mean, I do, but...I don't know...It's hard to put what I'm feeling into words...Standing there, taking that oath...woah man...That was a feeling I'd never felt before...That was true pride in myself and my accomplishments...Don't get me wrong about that...This is the only thing I've done so far in my life that I'm actually proud of...*sigh*...I dunno...Maybe it's just nervousness over the whole change of lifestyle and stuff that the Army is going to bring to my life...There's no reason for me not to be proud...I'll be serving my country in the most powerful military force in the world while getting training and experience in a field that I can actually use in the civilian world whenever it is that I decide to get out...

...oh, and I didn't even get a bookbag!! How fucked is that!?! I'm missing out on the cool Army swag...