Fork In the Road

In life we are faced with many different and difficult choices.  What should I eat this morning cereal or the Big Steak omelet from IHOP with tender strips of steak, hash browns, green peppers, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, and cheddar cheese. Served with salsa?  We face decisions every day but none are as important as the ones that can affect us for the rest of our lives.  Yes, it is true with hold our own destiny, we are free to make our own decisions in life, but sometimes it’s just not that easy.   

My half-sister moved to the Miami Florida, from Nicaragua at her junior year in high school.  She didn’t really know anyone in the Miami except her auntie who let her stay with her.  As she was graduating high school she was forced to make a life changing decision.   What do I do? She was turning 18, didn’t speak English that well and did not want to go back to Nicaragua.

While at school she heard that there was going to be a career day.  She thought this might be a perfect opportunity to see all the possibilities out there for her.  At first she was very excited to go, she was about to be able to hear of so many different choices and one might just help her decide on what to do with her life.  As the day came due for career day she still had one problem her English was not that good.  Now she was nervous.  She was also thinking that her time was running out, with only 4 months before graduation she knew she had to make a decision. 

As she went around the different booths she came across one that would change her life forever, The Army.  At first she was very hesitant to go approach the booth.  She thought, “The Army, what would I do in the Army”.  Out of nowhere a recruiter approached her, just as she finished her last thought.  The recruiter explained to her how beneficial the Army could be.  If she enlisted she could get a college degree, money to buy a house, etc..  She did not know what to think.  Then the recruiter said since you’re a girl you probably won’t need to go to war if one where to break out.  She thought this might be the perfect opportunity for me, I’ll be able to move out of my Aunties place, I won’t have to go back to Nicaragua, and I could get so much from the Army money for a college degree and help to buy a house.  This was the road to her independence the answer that she was looking for.

My half-sister decided to enlist.  She enlisted in February 2003; in March 2003 President George W. Bush declared that we were at war against Iraq.  She was scared but remembered that the recruiter told her that woman typically don’t go to war.  While taking her test to see what jobs she qualified for in the Army she felt pretty good.   She wanted to go into the medical field.  When my half-sister got her test results back, she did not qualify for the medical field.  Due to her language skills being so poor she would have to improve it and, re-apply for the medical field.  What she did qualify for was to be a driver.  So off she went to boot camp.  She passed her six weeks of basic training and then went off to be a driver.  She did not realize she would be driving big cargo trucks.

As soon as her cargo driving training was over she got called to go to the Iraq War as a truck driver.  For some reason truck driving in Iraq was in high demand due to all the trucks that got attacked.  Either they got destroyed by land mines or rocket launchers.

Yes sometimes we are faced with a decision to make, what do I do?  We might not truly understand the decision we are making and how big of an impact it could have on our lives.  Some are very minor, like the Steak Omelet from Ihop that could give you the Hershey Squirts in a few hours, or joining the military without truly knowing what could happen.  My sister looks back on that decision and told me that at times she had to do things that she never wanted to do or dreamed she would be doing.  She didn’t join the Army for the money, but for the opportunity to better her life.