My name is Becky and I am an 18 year old female. I had just finished High School. I was bored with my small town and decided that instead of paying thousands of dollars to a Training College, that I would join the Army and get both my training and experience while getting paid.
I had wanted to become a massage therapist for quite some time and this option truly seemed the best for many reasons. Besides getting my education, certification, experience and training, I would be able to travel to places that otherwise I may never get to see. I also would get to meet other girls and guys from all around the U.S. and make new friends. My mother thought that it was a great idea as well.
So off to the local recruiters office I went. I took an entire battery of tests that I scored high on. I also had a High School Diploma, and so I qualified for whatever Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) that I desired. So I signed up for my Massage Therapist Training which I wanted. This school also would give me training and certification in Physical Therapy. I took my oath of enlistment, was sworn in, and enlisted on the delayed entry program allowing me to leave in a month for Basic Training. This allowed me the time to say goodbye to my few friends that I socialized with as well as my family.
It was great seeing some of my family that I hadn't seen for a while. They were all quite excited for me and liked my choices. I also spent some time with a few of my friends, and quite a bit of time back and forth between my mom and my lifelong best friend Pam. We had been childhood best friends since elementary school and shared so many things in our lives with each other. We had no secrets between us and honestly we knew pretty much everything about each other's lives. Although it would be different not seeing or talking to her everyday, we swore that we would keep in touch with phone calls and emails on a regular basis. She had decided to go to a local college studying to be a teacher. On my final day at home, both my mom and Pam were sad to see me leave. And I was too, to a degree. Although I was also very excited about my future.