Fatima Johnson
1 July 2014
English II
Instructor: Geri Pope

The Crossroad of Selflessness

Throughout life we come across many obstacles where our decisions of today can ultimately determine our futures. Growing up in a world being an African American woman, I have witnessed and experienced tribulations that make me humble, and proud of whom I am today. One key obstacle or crossroad I feel I have faced that impacted me the most was “selflessness”; selflessness is the opposite of selfish, if your selfless you think less about your self, and more about others. It was a time in life that I’m sure we all go through, when it comes a time where your just ready to explore the world and live by priorities dedicated to only ourselves or in other words be selfish. Selflessness was something I learned along the way of growing and blossoming into a woman, and sometimes we don’t realize how selfish we truly are or how selfless we can truly be. When I decided to join the military that was the first major decisions I made for myself; I joined the armed forces with me in mind and my task list set to complete for me, myself, and I. Unfortunately in my first year of the military my step father passed away, and it destroyed my mothers home. I was thousands of miles away starting a life and living for myself, but my mother needed me in her time of mourning. In that moment I had only one decision because I couldn’t just leave the military, my first act of selflessness was sending for my mother and sister so they would be free of the thoughts of their environment. In an effort to ease the mind of my loved ones I almost lost a piece of myself, because what was a way to get away turned into a place to stay. I have been in the military five years and seven months to date, all while supporting my family. At times it became frustrating and I often wondered if I made the right decision. It was nights where I couldn’t sleep because I wanted to be someone else, I wanted to be free, I wanted to be “ME”