Why I Enlisted in the Army National Guard

In early September of 2006 after splitting up with my husband early that spring I was faced with the reality that now I was single mother with nothing really to offer in the way of job skills or really much of anything. I dropped out of High School at 16 and had obtained my GED but now days that does not get you far.

Sure, I could possibly find a decent guy and settle down again, raise some kids while he worked and provided for us but after my marriage I was so turned off by men I just plan did not want one around. So that left me with few options, one of which was to work dead end jobs making menial money and my child being raised by childcare providers. On the other hand, I could just live off the system like so many do. However, I wanted more then that for my daughter. I did not want to struggle like I had seen my own mother do.

My dream was to go to college. I had previously worked in the healthcare field as an aide and I loved the work. Nevertheless, I knew that job would not be able to bring in the kind of money I would need to have the kind of life I wanted for my daughter and I. I wanted to stay in healthcare and had decided I wanted to be a Respitory therapist. This of course requires college. College requires money, which I did not have.

Watching television one day, I saw an ad for the military saying that if you enlisted they would pay for your schooling. That ad spoke to me on so many levels. Here was my chance not only go to college for free but also for once in my life do something that actually mattered. So, I grabbed a notebook and started talking to requirters. The National Guard seemed like the most visible one to me. Just one weekend a month and two weeks in the summer time. I would be stationed close to home so I would not have to worry about moving my daughter all over the place.