I just started a course at a local college today, but I can’t count that yet, so instead I will talk about what I did do after graduation.
When I graduated, I was at a point where I absolutely despised being in school and the thought of (at least) another four years sitting in classrooms did not appeal to me at all.
Since I had to do something with my life and wasn’t really sure what, I decided to do what many a clueless young guy has done over the years:
I joined The Marines.
My grandfather was in the Army Corps of Engineers and my birth father was in the Air Force. I decided I wanted to somewhat follow in their footsteps, but maybe one up them just a little bit.
I went to boot camp at MCRD Parris Island, SC. 8,095 acres, of which about 3,200 are habitable. The rest is surrounded mostly by salt marshes and swamp.
I went there in July, which is pretty dumb for someone who hates the heat as much as I do. On my graduation day, which fell in October, the temperature was still 80 degrees. We won’t discuss July and August.
While there we took part in all kinds of fun activities like:
The Gas Chamber
Pugil Sticks
And other assorted fun like shooting, boxing. rappelling, forced marches, fighting fire ants and sand fleas, etc.
I was an infantryman (aka: Grunt), so after Parris Island I went to Marine Combat Training and then School of Infantry for further instruction.
After all the training was completed, I went on to serve in the fleet where someone was crazy enough to give me a fully automatic weapon – The M249 SAW (Squad Automatic Weapon)
Not me in the pic, but that is what the M249 looks like. Maybe I’ll upload some pics from my adventure someday.
While I didn’t go to college after high school. I did get one hell of an education and it’s not one I would trade for the world.
Semper Fi.
The Beginning At Last 
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