Recording-_4_

At 18, the speaker joined the Air Force and went through basic training in Texas. They stayed in Texas for job training and then spent the next 10 years of their career at McCord. The military provided structure and helped them develop resilience and leadership skills. They gained a new perspective by being exposed to different people and cultures. Now 29, the speaker is a disabled veteran, wife, and mother, but is currently focused on finding their voice and place in the world. They want to use their voice to empower kids and show them that their thoughts and opinions matter. So at 18, I joined the Air Force. I was shipped off to San Antonio, Texas for basic training. And then I stayed in Texas for my tech school, which is like my job training. And I turned 19 there, and then I come up to McCord, where I stay for the next 10 years of my Air Force career. And the thing about the military, for me, the military was like having another parent that was a little less strict on the rules. And the military laid out the mold for me. They told me where to be, how to be, what to wear, how to act, where my place was in the ranking system. They gave me the mold, and I happily stepped into it. But I do feel like I got a lot of benefit out of it. Not something I regret at all. It really helped with my understanding of resiliency. It helped me build leadership skills that I feel like I was told by my mother to have, but I didn't really know what that meant. Well, the military helped me figure that out. It gave me really a big shift in perspective. And actually, it just helped me understand that there is other perspectives outside of my own. I was... I was around many different walks of life, many different tones of flesh from all over the world. I met some of the best people in the military, and I gained a lot out of that experience. It's not, you know, PTSD. And now, I am 29 years old. I will be 30 next month. I am a disabled veteran. I am a wife. I am a mother. I am a whole plethora of labels. I wear a whole lot of different hats. But the one thing I am right now is finding my voice and finding my place in this world. And it's come to my understanding that kids are our future, our youth. And if it takes every other kid here, no. And I'm hoping by using my voice, there will be kids out there that don't have to wait until 29 to understand that it's okay to speak your thoughts. It's okay to say how you feel. Your voice and your opinion matters. So here we go.