The Military

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Joining the military while in college or immediately before or after has a lot of benefits, most of which involve money or careers. You may be guarnteed a job and experience to put on your resume, and you will not have to rely on loans or your parents to pay for school. People have other reasons for wanting to sign up too. Some come from military families, or want to go career, or want to serve their country, or have the opportunity to travel.

The military can also take up a lot of time. Things like basic training can take you away from school and your friends and family. While there you cannot communicate with them by electronic methods and must rely on handwritten letters. Other drawbacks to joining the military include how the people around you feel about it, and what your feelings about the military are. My advice to students who are signing up just for the money is to find another way to pay. The Military requires a lot of sacrifice and should only be considered if you are fully aware of the consequences and you are proud to join.

Are you in the military or ROTC? What branch, and why did you sign up? How has it affected your college experience? Do you have friends or loved ones in the military? How do you feel it affects you? Woud you ever consider signing up? Post your responses in the comment section, some may be used in a future post. I am also considering a series of posts about the military and college, so if you are interested, e-mail me at triciahein@ymail.com.