Page 54 - BRAVO-3 | ISSUE 2 | JULY/AUGUST 2018

ToclarifywhatIthoughtthatthemilitarywouldbelike,Icouldhavemetwitharecruiter,oreventalkedit overwithmyfriendstogetabeterunderstandingaboutwhattheythoughttheyweregoingtoexperience.I didn’t.Ijustpicturedthattheywouldbelivinginlongskinnyroomswiththirtyotherguysalonbunkbeds, neatlymadewitholivedrabwoolblankets.Iwasn’tsurethattheyevengotpaid.Ifiguredthattheygotafew buckstogooutandspendonweekendliberty,butapaycheckthatwascomparableorevenbeterthan waitingtablesatthelocaldinerdidnotevencrossmymind.Ithoughtthatthemilitarywasfeedingthem three
emealsadayatthemesshalandgivingthem aplacetosleep,andthatwasenoughforayoungman orwoman.
Itwasimpressivethatmyfriendswerecommitingtolivethistypeoflifestyleforfourtosixyears,butitwas notforme.Lookingback,knowingthatmostofwhatIthoughtaboutthemilitarywasskewed,Iam noless im pressed w ith those friends.W e w ere so young.To venture aw ay from hom e into som ething so foreign,m ust havebeenaharddecisiontomake.IfIhadjoinedatthatyoungage,ifIhadn’twaitedyearsandletmyself growup,IwouldnothavemadeitthroughbootcampandIknowIwouldnothaveenteredintothespecialty thatIdid.
InsteadIsteppedintoafieldofbooksandclasses.ColegewaswhatIwastoldthatIshoulddotosucceed, soIstartedoutingeneralstudiesatacommunitycolege.Thiswasfulfilingforatime.Ienjoyedlearningand setingafoundationforwhatwasnext.
ForworkIwaitedtablesataresort,namedTenayaLodge,rightoutsideofYosemiteNationalPark.The earlymorningsandthejobwereenjoyable.Thedaystartedoutwithathirteenmiledrivefrom myhome throughtheSieraNationalForesttotheresortthatwassuroundedbytalPonderosapines,incensecedars, whiteoaks,andbuckeyetrees.Peoplehadalwaysscaredme,butforsomereasonIlovedtalkingwiththe customersabouttheirplansfortheday.Ibegantolearnhowtoreadpeopleandanticipatetheirneedsand desires.Mostofthem weretheretovisitYosemite,butwhatpartofYosemite?TheNationalParkisavery
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place.Iwouldgivemycustomershintsforareastovisit,trailstohike,andsitestosee,specificalyfor them.Iwasrewardednicelywhenitcametimetoreceivemytip.
T h e re a l re w a rd d id n ’t c o m e u n til y e a rs la te r w h e n I fo u n d m y s e lf in A fg h a n is ta n w o rk in g a lo n g s id e individualsfrom severaldiferentcountries.Iwasabletoreadthesepeople,anticipatetheiractions,and hopefulycommunicateclearly.
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