Hello all, just stopping in for a quick note!  Right now, I am sitting in  the USO at the Washington Dulles International Airport in Washinton, D.C., waiting for my connecting flight to Columbia, South Carolina.  I am here with 3 other new soldiers, all four of us on our way to Basic Training together from Westover Air Force Base in Chicopee, MA. 

Already, this has been a day of new experiences.  Today was my first plane trip ever, and now my first visit to a USO.  Gotta love a place that gives free internet, computer usaged, movies to watch, couches to enjoy, and free food while waiting for our flights!  We have a 3 hour layover, so we have plenty of time on our hands to pass.  The Army has been good to us so far, and has given us an $18 food voucher each to use at any restaurant in the airports we go to.  

So this morning, I redid my Oath of Enlistment, this time swearing directly into the Army (before, apparently, it was swearing into the Delayed Entry Program).  I did officially get my promotion to E-3, Private First Class as well today, which is awesome.

Anyhow, I have some things I want to do here, so I will finish this up and get back to you all later!  See you all in 10 or so weeks!

---

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites

And today is the day....

I just awoke not long ago, and my mind is already filled with a hundred things that I want to accomplish before I leave for Basic Training.  But, not a one will get done.  Today is just a day of relaxation with mom and dad, the last time I will spend with them before I embark on this new journey into the unknown for me.  I don't have a lot of time with them, as I have to report to the recruiter's office around 4-4:30pm.  It seems like a long time from now, but this day will go away FAST, and soon enough, I will be hugging them goodbye and will be on my way up to Westover Air Reserve Base.

I think back to what it was that sparked this change in my life of joining the Army.  Was it Christian Cotner's death?  Was it something deeper inside?  Was it just being tired of being broke?  Was it frustrations with a lack of education?  Was it the lack of a stable and solid career?  Was it that this was always my heart's desire?

---

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites

As I sit here contemplating the upcoming tasks I need to do and people I need to see before I leave for Basic Training, I start to meditate back to all the people I have interacted with in the past few weeks.  My mind starts to maneuver through every confrontation, discussion, and time spent with every person I have interacted with recently, and what kind of things have been said, done, or thought of while interacting with them.

And as I meditate, I think on all the people that have given me encouragement as I prepare to embark on the biggest trek of my entire life.  I think on the words of advice friends have given me.  I think about those that have shown unconditional love towards me as I struggle through this hard time of lifetime planning.  I think about those that have been there for me day after day, hour after hour.  I think about those that have popped out of nowhere to just show me how important that I really am to them.  And unfortunately, I think about those that I actually expected these things from that did not show any of these things to me at all.

---

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites

Well, the news is now official!  Yesterday I completed my contract and got sworn in as a soldier in the United States Army with the initial rank of Private (E-2 level) with a small promotion to Private First Class (E-3 level) before I ship out.  Below is a copy of my Oath of Enlistment, in which I verbally recited as well as signed.

---

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites