<p>Thanks for the advice hornetguy. By ensuring you keep those who fight able to fight I assume you mean you are in the medical field. I do see where you are going about not “making my parents proud” be a reason to attend. </p>
<p>My parents have always said that if I’m happy, they are happy. By making them proud I mean challenging myself, finding what I am capable of, what I can improve on, taking the hardest courses I can manage, and become a follower and THEN a leader as I’ve heard, and to use my leadership to encourage and help others do the same. </p>
<p>In my high school becoming a leader is a joke. We have elections for student council every year, which is about the only position of leadership to be attained. The council includes President, Vice President, etc., and I’ve had the same President from 6th grade til 10th grade! Well this year, we were lucky enough to get a new one elected, who isn’t as arrogant as the last one. The vice president is a C student who gets into more trouble than most, my point being it is a popularity contest, not based on abilities of any kind at all. </p>
<p>I want to become an engineer, of which kind I am not completely sure of at the moment, but probably an electronics, mechanical, aerospace, or chemical engineer. </p>
<p>I’ve received a PM from someone regarding checking out other academies as well. As a Tenderfoot Scout I went to the annual West Point camporee, where I toured the campus, saw the museum, hiked Bull Hill (I’ve heard it’s “bull” if you can’t make it 
). I’ve also been to New London where I saw the Coast Guard Academy. I was more impressed with West Point of the two.</p>
<p>I looked into the Air Force and heard of the Air Force Academy. I’ve never visited, but would like to. The idea of working with aircraft or aircraft-related systems has been a fascination for me since I was younger. Making aircraft safer in design or electronics would be a way I could help the pilots.</p>