Michael Spiri Spiri 1
Lecturer: John McDonough
ENGL 101-24
11/6/12
Essay #4 Revision

Joining the Militiary

My good friend james decision to join the military was a choice that changed his life significantly. Before, he knew he was starting to go down the wrong path. Now after being through 3 months of grueling bootcamp, he has changed his life greatly. I think this choice he made will benefit him greatly now and in the future. James was going down the wrong path. High School he did not take seriously and had suffered as a result. He skipped school frequently and when he was in school, he would often get into fights with other students. He had problems at home and it affected the way he acted and his motivation. He had no goals to pursue, and chose to party rather then change his ways. His means of living this way had affected him negatively. Since he did not take high school seriously, he wasn’t able to walk with our class. While others were having graduation parties and celebrating, he had to go through night school, and received a night school diploma after graduation. He realized he wasn’t able to go to college with the grades he had obtained in high school, and he didn’t know what he would do with his life. I had feared that if he continued down this path, that he could end up in a hospital or rehab. I think he realized this, and faced with no other options he saw worthy, he joined the Marines in search of structure and a meaning to his life. This I believe was the best decision he has made in his life. After going through the grueling 3 months of Marine bootcamp, I saw my old friend again, but he was a lot different than when he left before. He had been through hell Spiri 2 for three months, and I questioned how he would return considering how he dealt with high school. The military has different results for certain people. Some people come out with their act cleaned up and a newfound respect for themselves and for other people that they might not have had before joining. Other people could return from the military scarred and angry as a result of a brutal and tough bootcamp. I didn’t know whether he would come back improved or even more messed up. I figured that he might not come back well considering how he used to take the challenges and critics in his life. Based on the way I saw him before leaving, I also questioned if he would make it through boot camp without quitting, or going A-wall. After three months, he had come back, but he had come back a completely changed person. In the span of three months, he turned from a civilian struggling to find his ways into a marine. By becoming a marine and serving the country, he now had obtained a new pride and respect for himself, both of which he hadn’t had before joining. The overall change for him when joining the marines was a significant and great change. He had become strict, disciplined, and had a much better way of conducting himself with himself and with other people he dealt with. He also had been taught to work hard and to take things he had to do seriously. If he wants to achieve success in his life, he knows now that he has to work hard to get there. This is something he failed to notice before. Before he didn’t have that motivation to work hard and be successful. Before enlisting, he didn’t see himself going far in life. His consistent problems at home and the impact it made on his schoolwork made him start to become depressed.