Okay I want to start off this blog by saying that this is no normal blog from me. This is basically me just updating you on my life because what I have to say might be surprising for some of you. This is something I have only told about like 3 people total so now you all are going to know it.

Well I guess now’s the time to tell you…I am going to Officer Candidate School for the Marines. Crazy right? You’d never expect me doing anything like that, but I am. Right now I am in the process of applying. I have to get through MEPs first and then I would head towards the contract. But just to be clear, this is a for sure thing. To the people that already know this, thank you for not telling because it’s something that is very personal so I really appreciate you for that.

Throughout my life I have been exposed to anything and everything Marine oriented. My grandpa was a Master Sargent in the Marines and my grandma was a Drill Instructor (which is kinda weird to think). My dad shot down airplanes, but I am not sure what his rank was. So if you were to ask me if I like the Marines or the Army better, I would say Marines without a doubt (but that’s just my opinion). I do appreciate the Army though, and I am thankful for what they do. Since having a house full of girls, my dad was kind of bummed that he didn’t have a boy who would join the Marines. So my dad chose one person to talk about the Marines to…and that was me. I was involved with numerous sports and was very athletic, and I think thats why my dad chose me to push all of the Marine information onto. My dad was in the Marines for 8 years until he fell two stories onto his back and got injured. But I’m kinda glad that it happened (sorry dad). I remember when I was younger, my dad and I went to an Omaha Beef game and some Marines where there. They had this pull up bar right next to them and my dad said I should try it, and so I did. I only held myself up on the bar because only the adults would do the pull ups. I think I hung there for about 1 minute and 45 seconds, but I’m not so sure on the time. I ended up winning this big adult size T-shirt because of how long I held myself up. I didn’t realize how winning the T-shirt had such a big impact on my decisions in the future until now. While growing up my dad would casually mention “Hey, you should join the Marines” into a conversation. I would just laugh it off saying “Haha funny”. I never would think I would actually consider it until late high school/early college.

As I mentioned earlier, my grandma was in the Marines. She never talked about her experience in the Marines except when she told us about how she met my grandpa. Anywho, she didn’t need to talk to me about her experiences. I learned a lot from her by the way she presented herself. She not only showed so much love towards me, but her strength as well. She was sick for such a long time due to smoking cigarettes. After she was diagnosed with lung cancer, she chemo treatments and then was taken to an emergency surgery. After defeating lung cancer, she was then diagnosed with a brain tumor. She had more chemo and radiation treatments with that. After defeating that, she was diagnosed with a little bit of skin cancer on her ear. We took care of that in a blink of an eye. After finishing all of those obstacles life has given her, she then had pneumonia and thats what got her in the end. The thing with that last obstacle is she kept fighting. She was a Marine because she never wanted anyone to see her at her weakest. If you knew my grandma, she was bubbly and outgoing, and kind of ornery at times (like myself). So having people not see her like that was tough. But with her last breath, she left her legacy.

I also mentioned that my grandpa was in the Marines. He actually made a career out of the Marines. He was in there for 30 years I believe. He left school in 8th grade and joined the Marines. He fought in World War 2, Korea, and Vietnam. There was a time when he was blown off a ship and was stranded in the ocean for 2 hours. He would always say that he got shot up while he was in it. In comparison to my grandma, all we ever heard from him was Marines, Marines, Marines. Sadly, he also had dementia so it makes sense why that’s all we ever heard. I never got tired from those stories though because they are so intriguing. But sometimes hearing the same stories for 5 years can get a little bland. My grandpa and my grandma both hold a dear spot in my heart. We were their only grandchildren and so they loved us as much as humanly possible.

This is something I just thought about while writing this blog. So a couple of weekends ago on a Sunday, I watched a sermon with a friend about a process of a dream. This was a recording of a sermon I heard in person about 2 years prior. I am now looking back on it and remembering what the pastor said. He talked about his dream which soon lead to becoming a pastor. He tried his best to escape it and dodging it but it ended up being the dream God had planned for him. Now I am looking back and thinking that God was trying to tell me something. My whole life I was dodging the Marines and saying “haha good one dad”. I never ever imagined me actually following through with it. Actually in class today I felt like I was going to cry because I was very excited and scared of what is to come. I also just kept looking back on my grandparents and that just made me want to cry more. So like the title of my blog, this is my new journey. A very unexpected one. I am probably going to post this the day I go and talk to my OSO to start applying, but I just wanted to type it now because today is the day I officiated it with my OSO. So all I can say is that I am very excited for this new path God has for me. I know a lot of growth will come into play throughout the 6 weeks I am there. I just ask for a lot of prayers to help strengthen my mental and physical health to prepare for OCS.

The comfort zone is a psychological state in which one feels familiar, safe, at ease, and secure.

If you always do what is easy and choose the path of least resistance, you never step outside your comfort zone. Great things don’t come from comfort zones

Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart

With much love,

Emily