How College Found Me
When I was in high school, I struggled to get through each class that I took. I was not one of those people that were naturally gifted in any educational manner. I would spend ample amounts of time studying and doing extra credit work to boost my grades. I was not talented at test-taking either; therefore, every time a test or quiz was coming up my teachers knew that I was going to be running to them asking what I could accomplish for extra credit. Throughout my entire high school experience, it was never an enjoyable time for me. When the time approached for me to graduate, I had no interest in attending college. The idea of investing enormous amounts of money and time into an activity that I had not been happy with to this point did not appeal to me whatsoever. I had to do something in the meantime while I figured out what to do with my life. So, I joined the United States Navy to keep me preoccupied and give me a platform to stand on. By joining the military, it gave me the opportunity to get away from home, force me to grow and develop on my own, and mature in such a way that I would finally realize what my goal in life is.
I was assigned to be a diesel mechanic on a warship in Virginia, where I had a list of important and difficult qualifications that were expected to be completed within a certain time frame from the moment that I arrived to the ship. Some of the qualifications were easier than others. There was one I had to complete that was about the same level of difficulty as taking a college course. I also had to read technical manuals by the handful to be an effective knowledgeable member of the workspace that I was assigned to since these technical manuals were the in-depth books of our machinery. I spent years slowly advancing my technical knowledge so I could be someone who could handle responsibility and difficult tasks on my own. Through the constant studying and understanding of how my equipment functioned, I was able to grow as a dependable engineer and developed better work habits. Which in turn gave me immense self-confidence in my abilities to accomplish any goal I set my mind to.
Now that I had spent so much time accomplishing goals that I never thought possible, it was time to move on and do something different. For my second military tour, I decided to be a recruiter for the United States Navy. I chose to be a recruiter because I wanted a way to transition myself back into civilian life without the abrupt halt of military benefits and pay. While on recruiting duty I have had to spend loads of time contemplating my next career path. After hours of contemplation on the topic, I have been able to conclude that I want to become a law enforcement officer. I never had the desire to be a police officer before, but after all my years in the military, I have gained a large amount of growth, perspective, and maturity. I became addicted to the uniforms, sense of responsibility, and feeling of empowerment. I enjoy helping people and being the one that comes to aid when someone needs assistance. This was the key reason that made me decide to enroll in the Criminal Justice associate degree program so that one day I could carry out my dream of becoming a police officer after I finish my second military tour.
Throughout the next two years that I am enrolled in college classes, I hope to stay engaged and interested in every book or discussion that I am assigned to read. Since the start of my associate degree program, I have only completed one course thus far. In such a short period of time, an incredible amount of writing ability and knowledge of the writing process has grown immensely for me. I plan to gain the knowledge that I need to become an effective law enforcement agent someday. I also have high hopes that from taking college classes I could gain another massive self-confidence boost because attending college has been an intimidating idea to me for years. I will finally have the ability to put it in my rear-view mirror and be proud that I made the decision to take on a challenge that scared me for such a long time.
All my experiences from struggling through every class during high school and every challenge that I faced after joining the United States Navy. Moving far from home forced me to grow and develop as an adult quickly, discover ways to maneuver around difficult qualifications that were placed in my path. while working in the military gave me the courage to realize that I can do much more than I ever foresaw possible for myself. I know that if I continue to put forth the same work ethic that I did to accomplish the qualifications and increase my knowledge level by reading technical manuals during my time working on a military warship, I will be able to achieve my hopes and dreams not only on the academic side of my life but also my personal dream of becoming a law enforcement officer one day.
