I have a love-hate relationship with the Marine Corps, mostly hate. There are a few things I will miss when this part of my life is over but for the most part I can’t wait for it to be done with. Every time I go back home or speak to my family they want to talk about this job that I don’t like. I realize that to them it is interesting, exciting even. I understand that they have no idea what my life is like now and they want to be informed. It frustrates me for so many reasons. No matter how much anyone in my position tries to explain what our life is like nobody can ever really understand unless they have lived it. It especially bothers me when I’m home. Who wants to talk about their job on vacation?
When conversation leads to my job, as I know it inevitably will, I prepare myself for the dreaded routine I have developed. I usually humor them for a couple minutes with short, vague responses to be polite. I then try to change the subject as gracefully as possible, which thanks to my notorious social skills is usually borderline rude. Sadly, I don’t have much else to talk about these days so awkward silences are always present. Sometimes I am so worn down and tired of being here my conversation is extremely negative. Talking to my folks recently I basically described Afghanistan as a huge dump and its people as lower life forms.
I have been thinking pretty heavily on this lately. It’s not fair to the people back home to keep them in the dark, no matter how difficult it may be for me. I decided I need to write about all the positive things I see. Topics have been running through my mind all week. Since I started this blog I have been surprised to see how easy it is for me to write about certain aspects of my job. When something is deep in my heart, like The Answered Prayer or Ad Astra per Aspera, the words flow easily through my mind, soothing me as they hit the paper.
I going to try posting one tonight because theres no telling when I'll be able to get on here again. I already have something in my head but I need to figure out how to put pictures up on here. It's probably really simple but I am internet illiterate.
Just remember that nobody likes to talk to someone who only wants to talk about themselves. Considerate, polite people will generally try to ask you at least a few questions about yourself and what you're doing to avoid monopolizing a conversation and appearing rude. People who genuinely care will then actually listen to the answers you give and whatever else you want to say. I've sensed that you don't really like talking about your current job, and I don't understand a lot of the military stuff, so I try to think of other things to talk to you about. There are so many things--good,bad, and otherwise--that are easier for me to write about than talk about, and I feel better when I do write. Maybe it's the same for you.
ReplyDeleteRight now there are so many things I would like to be writing, but I either don't have time or can't write about it due to confidentiality rules. Even changing names, I'm worried that someone will figure it out. Mostly I love my job and feel I can make a difference with what I'm doing, but there are some really hard things, too. There are *so* many things I want to write about what I am doing, and it is frustrating that I'm not able to. Your dad said I should go ahead and write them but just not publish them now. I think I will do that.
To add photos to your posts:
1) Start a new post.
2) In compose mode, look at the tan bar below the title and link.
3) Click the picture icon to the right of the ABC (2/3 of the way across that tan bar, the video button is to the right of that).
4) A new window will pop up. Click "Browse" and you can find the photo (on your hard drive, an external drive, or on some other device) and click it. You can click "add another image" and add up to five photos, one at a time, before clicking "upload image".
Hey man I feel you all the way on this post right here. Actually I think that you and I were talking about this the other night. I do the same thing when I'm home but usually the people that start the convo I dont have anything else in common with them so I'm stuck till the end. Just hold on though we don't have to much longer in this gun club.
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