You can see how many days it’s been since Day 1. I’ve officially joined the U.S. Army (I swore my allegiance yesterday), as a 09S (Commissioned Officer Candidate). It’s not ideally what I’ve wanted, because I’m going into the Army Reserve as opposed to active duty, but I’ve realized that sometimes things work out for the better. It’s been an up and down ride; the worst part being when my CC told me that I would probably not pass the USAREC board. My BN board was a couple of weeks ago, where I was fully recommended to attend OCS as a reservist. I was placed into a Signal Corps unit, and was recommended to take the XO slot, something that normally does not happen for an O-1 (CC told me that the slots for USAR in southern California are usually PL slots for ordinance, transportation, or quartermaster) with my background. Nevertheless, I am happy to have this opportunity.

For the better - I actually got a job offer at Quest Dx. I start next Tuesday. It’s an exciting opportunity with a large company that I feel I could do well at.

This past week, I’ve been so happy. Obviously if you have a goal, if you work hard at it, you’ll end up where you want to be. Though, sometimes it takes some fancy footwork, and maybe a little bit of luck.

You’ll get there. I know you will.

After a bit of discussion with my recruiter about technicalities on my SF86 (Questionnaire for National Security Clearance), I finally took the ASVAB. It was quite an arduous journey, it involved us having to wait for five other people taking the test, a trip up to Los Angeles MEPS, and a couple of clerical errors at MEPS.

Stepping into MEPS, I knew that the military was strict and this was no exception. Everything had to be correct to the T, and when they gave you directions, you should follow them. Basically, it’s this; a guy I met at MEPS said that if you make it easy on them (the workers there), they will make it easy for you. Fortunately, I already knew how military discipline is. I think because there were lots of kids there (kids meaning, recently out of high school), I heard a lot of it because they were undisciplined.

Anyway, I finished the test in about an hour, maybe 80 minutes. I was handed a stapled envelope with my results. Another recruiter from the recruiting station I was with opened my results, gave it a glance and laughed. I asked, “Did I do bad?” His reply: “You got a 99 man,” while laughing more.

Had a serious discussion with my recruiter. We talked about everything from what to do as a new 2LT, to how recruiting and unit transfers work, to coins that are useless.

Overall, I’m satisfied with my score; I think the day could have went better by not having to deal with the multiple clerical errors with the other personnel from my recruiting station. We left the station at 12:30PM, and didn’t get back until 8:00PM. Even so, I feel more committed to achieving this goal than I’ve ever been.

“Today is the first day of the rest of your life.”

It’s been a long nine months out of college. Every day, I’ve contemplated what my next life step would be. I’ve thought about joining the green-collars, or to get a part-time job for short-term support while I try to become a full-timer.

Sometimes, I think my legs don’t work. When I run, I feel like I have to pull them up with my hands to go faster. Then I realized that those were dreams that I’ve been having. Dream interpretation says that these dreams signify a lack of self-esteem and self-confidence.

Honestly, these nine months have destroyed my life (with the exception of getting married, of course). There have been times when I just want to rage; punch everyone in the face, and run away to where no one can find me. There were also moments when I’ve been calm; that this is my destiny, and that I will get to where I’m going soon enough.

Today, while I’m not sure if I’m exactly thrilled about getting my retail job, I’ve made an important decision. Joining the military has always been in the back of my mind, ever since my father told me about his experiences while I was a child. After talking with my wife, I now have her full support in trying to go into OCS. This decision, by no means, was easy. Because we were recently married, any life changing decision must be made as a unit, and I’m incredibly lucky to be married to her. So that’s what this is. I’m using my personal Tumblr to document my journey to become a commissioned officer.

I’ve been frequenting the ArmyOCS forums, and from what I gather, I am a competitive candidate. I just need to lose fifteen pounds (which I am already on track at doing), and start to max out my APFT score. Right now, I am at about 195-200, so bringing it up to 300 should work well with the weight loss goal.

The other thing I need to do, is find a recruiter who has done OCS packets. The one I previously talked to was new to recruiting, and while I applaud his effort and enthusiasm about learning the application process, I feel like I do not want to waste any of my chances in joining. So, here’s to tomorrow.

“Take what you can, give nothing back.”