And what about the opposite case, Wink? I think if we are the opposite, we deserve medals for pushing on against opposition.
My sad story:
So two days ago, I received my conditional appointment to the Virginia Military Institute. This should have been my proudest day. I showed it to all my friends in school. I showed it to my unit commander at NJROTC who told me not to show it to any of the other kids in NJROTC there since they would be jealous and hate me. And, besides my dad, I DIDN'T SHOW IT TO ANYONE ELSE IN MY FAMILY!
Why? Because, though my dad would prefer I become a doctor like everyone else in the family seems to do, he does support me to do what I want. BUT NO ONE ELSE IN MY FAMILY DOES. Not my mom, who is a wall street trader, not a typical woman's job, but she just laughed at me when I told her about the Navy, not my grandparents who think it is crazy, and not my aunts and uncles. In fact, besides my dad, not a single relative I have supports this. Even my counselor in school thinks I should have my head examined. I haven't even been able to tell any of my family I "applied" to VMI - forget telling them I was accepted!
When I come home from school in my Navy Junior ROTC cadet uniform on uniform day or my Navy sweats on PT day, I have to rush up to my room and hide it and my nicely polished shoes so no one in the family needs to be reminded about what I am doing. I have to slink around the house because I am wearing a Navy uniform.
One of my cousins was in Army ROTC and received a purple heart in Iraq as a 2nd Lt with the special forces. When I bring him up with my relatives, they all say how if his parents had known that Iraq was going to come down, they would have fought my cousin's decision to join ROTC too. I once discussed with my grandparents the NROTC scholarship, and they told my dad that if he was to let me take it, he would be selling his soul and mine for a few pieces of silver - like Judas Iscariot.
Flying? No way!
That is like my deep dark secret! I don't want to end up being locked up in a mental hospital!
So, here. I am all alone in wanting to do this. Most of my family thinks I am retarded for wanting to do this. I discussed all of this during my officer interview, and I think I got bonus points for it.
But there you have it. There are some of us fighting an uphill battle to join the Navy. We wish there was a helicopter parent somewhere who would help us out a bit. Or be supportive.
That's also why I feel a bit sad when I see posts, like from A4sForever and Steve Wilkins, about how women don't belong in the military. I feel like I am fighting the battle on both sides.
My sad story:
So two days ago, I received my conditional appointment to the Virginia Military Institute. This should have been my proudest day. I showed it to all my friends in school. I showed it to my unit commander at NJROTC who told me not to show it to any of the other kids in NJROTC there since they would be jealous and hate me. And, besides my dad, I DIDN'T SHOW IT TO ANYONE ELSE IN MY FAMILY!
Why? Because, though my dad would prefer I become a doctor like everyone else in the family seems to do, he does support me to do what I want. BUT NO ONE ELSE IN MY FAMILY DOES. Not my mom, who is a wall street trader, not a typical woman's job, but she just laughed at me when I told her about the Navy, not my grandparents who think it is crazy, and not my aunts and uncles. In fact, besides my dad, not a single relative I have supports this. Even my counselor in school thinks I should have my head examined. I haven't even been able to tell any of my family I "applied" to VMI - forget telling them I was accepted!
When I come home from school in my Navy Junior ROTC cadet uniform on uniform day or my Navy sweats on PT day, I have to rush up to my room and hide it and my nicely polished shoes so no one in the family needs to be reminded about what I am doing. I have to slink around the house because I am wearing a Navy uniform.
One of my cousins was in Army ROTC and received a purple heart in Iraq as a 2nd Lt with the special forces. When I bring him up with my relatives, they all say how if his parents had known that Iraq was going to come down, they would have fought my cousin's decision to join ROTC too. I once discussed with my grandparents the NROTC scholarship, and they told my dad that if he was to let me take it, he would be selling his soul and mine for a few pieces of silver - like Judas Iscariot.
Flying? No way!
That is like my deep dark secret! I don't want to end up being locked up in a mental hospital!So, here. I am all alone in wanting to do this. Most of my family thinks I am retarded for wanting to do this. I discussed all of this during my officer interview, and I think I got bonus points for it.
But there you have it. There are some of us fighting an uphill battle to join the Navy. We wish there was a helicopter parent somewhere who would help us out a bit. Or be supportive.
That's also why I feel a bit sad when I see posts, like from A4sForever and Steve Wilkins, about how women don't belong in the military. I feel like I am fighting the battle on both sides.
