Hey guys. It's been a turbulent couple of weeks with a lot of ups and downs and everything in between. I've thought to myself every day "boy, I should probably write a blog." And yet I just couldn't. Nothing really came to mind. And then I received an e-mail from Josh, so you can thank him for this bad boy!

I remember that one of my first blogs came a year and six days ago, on veterans day. I remember feeling like I hadn't really done something worth being thanked for. That there were people more fitting to be thanked. And now, I guess I'm sort of one of those people. It's a weird feeling being 20 (that's right, my birthday came and went... I'll talk about that in a later blog) and knowing that I am truly a war veteran now. I've served in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and I'll probably serve in support of Operation Enduring Freedom soon enough. I'm 20 years old, and already I'm part of a very elite group of people. A group of selfless people who spend a year away from home in the hopes that just maybe they can make a difference (or maybe they're just banking time because they're forced to. I’d like to think it's the former.)

That being said, I received a pretty wonderful e-mail from my little brother. He sounds a lot like me 1 year ago. Coming up, he'll have served a full year in the military, and he is just 18 years old. Already, he's a part of something bigger than himself. It's weird because he said a lot of what I said a year ago. Here's part of his e-mail:

"...last wednesday was veterans day, and for the first time since i joined I felt apart of something bigger. A few kids who knew what I'd done over the summer came up to thank me. I remember asking myself, "what have I done?" and then it occured to me that it was veterans day. At first I felt bad, because really what have i done, nothing. I made the choice to join, I've went to basic, I go to RSP once a month, but in reality thats nothing. There are so many more soldiers who have given so much more then me. Brent Cook gave his life, dads given nearly thirty years of his life. In 11 days I'll be celebrating my first year. Wow, nothing at all. I guess not only do I want to say happy birthday, but I also want to say thanks. From one soldier to another, thanks for having my back. From brother to sister, thanks for supporting me through everything. And lastly, friend to friend, You'll never realize how much you do for me. It means alot Jack.

I love ya Jack, stay safe,

Josh

I'm a little wiser now. And I realize that while Josh hasn't served overseas and that one year ago, when I wrote my blog, I hadn't either, I realize that me and Josh both gave up an awful lot. We gave up the summer before our Senior year. We gave up one precious weekend a month that most kids spent partying and getting drunk, because it's the cool thing to do. We gave up going to college like our friends did/will do. We gave a lot up, just to be a part of something that was more important than it all, more important than being a “normal teenager.” And we stand to give up a lot more every time we are deployed. That’s not to say that we won’t take away a handful of very important friends or experiences. Through our own eyes, we’ve seen those unbreakable relationships form when you join a part of something bigger. The sense of brotherhood and belonging you suddenly obtain, simply by slipping on your uniform one weekend a month or a year of your life. It’s one of the most empowering feelings, really.

Thank-you for deciding to take a path less traveled by your peers, and for giving up a lot more than you even realize right now. I love you to, Bud.


<3 Jacki