<p>by DontGiveUp </p>
<p>I applaud you kids. From the postings of your astronomical GPA’s and eye-popping SAT scores, I say America has a bright future. Yet, some of you kids need to have your priorities set straight. Let me tell you guys my story. I’m 23 years old now, so I have already finished walking the college tightrope. Well, I’ll be frank; I’e never even sent an application. Why, you say to yourself, this guy must be some good-for-nothing, welfare-using bum. How can one person choose not go to college? Does he not have any ambition? I do have ambition, I’ve just not had the financial resources to sustain a collegiate endeavor. I love my mom and pops; I don’t deserve their unbreakable love and support. However, back then I thought my parents owed me something. Why couldn’t they be smart and afford my college tuition too? I was a brat, a snot-nosed brat who had one whipping too little. I was forced to make do with my diploma. The highest paying company that hired me was, of course, the recruit-starved U.S Army. </p>
<p>I hoped to get a computer job, but with only a diploma, my butt was headed for Iraq. In Iraq, I have been shot at, cursed at (in three different dialects too!), and spat on. On a patrol of Najaf, I saw a Hummer in front of me get ripped to shreds by an IED. 2 men, I believe both were husbands with children, died in that vehicle; one person lost a foot. I was assigned to be in that vehicle, but the turret gunner on the second Hummer had a bad case of the flu. I volunteered to take his place. To this day, I thank whatever God is out there for sparing my life. However, this was nothing to what the Iraqis been through. You kids complaining about Hamlet? These kids are walking to school in constant danger of getting kidnapped, raped, incapacitated, and blown-up, all in succession. My treatment seems like a poorly executed wedgie compared to the hell these kids been through. Crying and whining about your rejection letter from Yale and Stanford? These kids would give their right arms (some have already did) to just attend a normal high school. </p>
<p>I remember a time when I was on a foot patrol in Baghdad. We were resting by a dirt-cracked soccer field where a couple of kids were playing. We probably stopped for only 5 minutes, but during those 5 minutes the kids seem to play with more vigor. They were yelling, laughing, and tackling each other. As soon as we were about to leave, one of the future soccer studs yelled out “Thanks for safety.” When was the last time you people thanked your parents for giving you a roof over your head, four sturdy walls around you, and a comfortable bed to sleep in?
I remember responding to a recent car bomb at a crowded marketplace. You might have heard of it on the news…50 people dead, mostly women with their children. So you got rejected from UCLA? At least you didn’t lose your mom. Or dad. Or your life. At least you don’t have the danger of being slaughtered while going to Safeway. </p>
<p>I remember getting what hopefully was my only kill in Iraq. Two insurgents were pretending to surrender to lure me out of my vehicle. Their glocks were in poor quality, so their crucial first shots were wild. I’m pretty sure I was the first that fired. And I’m pretty sure I emptied a 3 round burst into the chest of a human. To this day, I try to reason with myself over this event. He tried to kill me, I had to defend myself. Some of you kids may wish to kill that teacher who gave you that “dreaded” B+. Trust me, I know all of you are kidding, but killing a human is nothing to joke about. You have to live with the guilt…Was he a brother? Or maybe he had a bright future in music? Did he have a sweetheart back at home? You snuffed out someone’s dreams, and you have to live with that your whole life. Thankfully, a squad-mate wounded the other insurgent. I don’t know what I’ll do if I killed two people. </p>
<p>My time in Iraq changed me. That hellish sandbox may have almost killed me more times than I can count, but I’m grateful for the lessons it taught me. I by no means recommend ANY of you join the army, but I hope that you guys could take something from this story. The end is not near if Brown rejected your 4.5 GPA. There’s always another college out there. Work hard, and you will get into the graduate school of your choice (which is what most jobs look at anyways). Me? I’m currently earning my degree in Material Science at an UC. It’s not Berkeley, it’s not LA, but I was in tears after arriving on campus. People were giving me funny looks, but I didn’t care. I would like to conclude this long post, or rant, with a quote from a person many of you strive to be. As Bill Gates once said “There are many paths to heaven.”</p>
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