Army Life: Downs

Hello reader, I am a twenty-four year old male enlisted in the United States Army (HOOAH). My current MOS is 94P. To rephrase, my Military Occupational Specialty is Multiple Launch Rocket Systems Repairer. Still lost? Look it up lol. Life is pretty breezy so far. I'm halfway through my AIT training with about 13weeks to go and will begin my at my first duty station in August. There are ups to living this military lifestyle but there are also it's downs. If you could care less about my life in the military THIS is where you stop reading. 

I'm stationed in Fort Lee, Virginia where there is very little to do around here but it's not so much my stay here it's more downs to the personal aspect. When you have one of the longest MOSs here it sucks being away for 6mos seeing so many other soldier come in and graduate so many different classes while you're still here going through the same old routines day in and day out. They come in, train for their job and on 6 weeks they're back at home for 3wks to enjoy their families. I've got 26 wks. I can see 4 different groups of soldiers for the same job come in and graduate. It sucks. On top of that you start to miss your friends, your family, your significant other if she's present. I was just thinking today it's been nearly SIX months since I've went on a date or had any interactions with someone of the opposite sex. Being in training we aren't allowed to do such things. Everywhere you go it's a group of at least three soldiers. It makes sense though because of the chances and high probability of rape happening but again, it sucks.  I knew I'd be tough but SHEEESH. It almost makes me want to question my job choice. I keep thinking to myself that the next person I date is probably going to want to marry me because after being deprived of doing so much you don't want tondo anything else but go all out. That's where I'm going to be tested in patience. To make sure I'm not wasting my time and fun (lol) on the wrong person. 

It's so many ideas I have for a date. Places to go. Things to see. Experiences to....experience. I personally get a kick out of seeing other people happy. Being able to make someone else smile is one of the top 3 joys of life. #1 is child birth and #2 is marriage. It's something about bringing another person to a high level of satisfaction to where its expressed to the world that makes life worth living. And on top of that, a woman's smile is one of the best sites ever known to man. Rapper Wale said it best "you know it's beauty when a smile is best curve." Set aside all the other physical features she has, a smile goes a lot further. When missing someone FaceTime is a doleful event that feels like you're selling yourself short of their touch. 

*takes two steps left* Ok, now I'm out of my feelings lol. Aside from that, transportation can get a little expensive taking a cab everywhere you desire on weekends. It's best to travel in big packs so that you can split the bill. Food is also not as you would hope it to be. It's pros and cons to that because if t was solely up to me I would probably be eating things that are not beneficial to my body so it's a good thing the Army takes care of that for me! A HUGE downer to the Army is missing so many freaking events. Concerts here, sports games there. Weddings, birthdays, parties, they all get missed. It's a sacrifice you make when you sign that line to defend your country. Yea it's not the most pleasant feeling but if I had the choice I would make the same decision now that I did then.