When my daughter Cinderella came to me shortly after graduating high school and said she was going to join the Army I was only a little surprised. A few years prior as we sat in a high school gym watching her brother LCpl Honda compete in wrestling she turned to me and said, “I am going to do that next year mom.” I thought, well ok. Needless to say, she made good on her comment and even went on to pin a few boys during her wrestling career.
The day came and she left for boot camp and never looked back. Her reasons for joining were she did not really want to attend college right away because she was concerned about finances and knew she would probably be able to attain a better education after serving with her GI Bill.
Her goals were to do the best job for her country. Now, this was pre 9/11 when people were not receiving the accolades for joining and serving that they do today. Not that we were not proud, but I for one was naive thinking the world would remain calm and the war was not a possibility in the near future. Boy was I wrong.
Cinderella says like any other job there are pros and cons. She cites job security, guaranteed paycheck, free health, and dental insurance as pros for joining the military. For Cinderella, the honor of serving her country was by far the biggest pro. She didn’t cite two many cons but did say that nobody likes their job all the time and there were times she had rough days. She said it was tough working long hours on four hours of sleep but understood the job requirements.
Cinderella left the military because she had a young daughter at the time and thought it best to be a full-time mother to her. Would she join again? “In a minute!” she said. But Cinderella has chosen motherhood first. I have to agree with that decision.
Although she would still like to serve she has taken away a lifetime of experiences that a lot of people can’t say they have. Cinderella spent three and a half years active duty as an MP attaining the rank of specialist in the US Army and one year as a specialist in the Army National Guard.
Thank you for your service Spec. Cinderella. We are proud of you!
