3SG LUCAS LEO

I didn't like the army.

I hated the idea of wasting 2 years of my life on something that could at most be translated into a mere "thank you for your service", much less garner respect from strangers and family alike. Coming from an environment where we were challenged academically (and portfolio-ly), I didn't want to stagnate during this time and I lamented about it to almost everyone I knew. Thus began my own very un-eventful NS journey.

BMT felt like a blur of pushups and loads of  admin time. It wasn't as hard as I imagined it to be, but it didn't give me that satisfaction of learning something worthwhile that could be translated into the workforce. 

Even entering command school, SCS just felt like a ramped up version of BMT; just more physically intense, yet still lacking in what I yearn for. 

By the time I arrived at my unit, all those organic chemistry equations and p-value testing found themselves replaces by SOPs and how to be a good soldier that listens to instructions: one command, one action. 

I didn't like the army. 

I still don't. 

But, in the daze of doing the same old routines day in day out, I found myself looking around me, instead of the distant future. Helping those around me one step at a time was enough to make me feel alive and purposeful, and what used to be solo gaming nights turned into brotherhood that I still cherish. Turns out, even in a uniform, you could still find lessons, and maybe even a little meaning :)