As a child, I have always wanted to enlist in the military and serve our country. My
parents migrated into this country at an early age and I feel that I have an obligation to serve our
country. Senior year is a big step in my life that is going to introduce me into the adult world and
my future as a United State Marine. Before the enlistment process you need to go to the Military
Entrance Processing Station or known as MEPS. On September second after speaking to my
recruiter extensively (Staff Sergeant Hitz), I was set head out to MEPS.
A week later on September ninth I had an anxious feeling followed by impatience would only intensify as the day continued and arriving there was an aweing experience. When you walk through those doors, you can feel intense pressure as if the gravity in the room has doubled or tripled. For most people, including myself, received a wake up call. Hearing Officers from different branches yelling orders to us civilians made almost everyone think “Why in God’s name did I decide to do this”? It was quiet but loud at the same time. One moment it would be dead silent enough to where you can hear Day one was mainly reception and exam taking. The ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) is the main test that you take at MEPS but due to me taking the test prior to arriving at MEPS, I took the other required tests in order to qualify for enlistment. The other tests were computer and psychological tests to see the individuals cyber knowledge and mental state.
After the test taking we had to wait for the bus to pick us up to our hotel due to MEPS being a two day process. One important piece of information, phones are not allowed anywhere in the facility. Phones and personal items including wallet are taken into storage until further
A week later on September ninth I had an anxious feeling followed by impatience would only intensify as the day continued and arriving there was an aweing experience. When you walk through those doors, you can feel intense pressure as if the gravity in the room has doubled or tripled. For most people, including myself, received a wake up call. Hearing Officers from different branches yelling orders to us civilians made almost everyone think “Why in God’s name did I decide to do this”? It was quiet but loud at the same time. One moment it would be dead silent enough to where you can hear Day one was mainly reception and exam taking. The ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) is the main test that you take at MEPS but due to me taking the test prior to arriving at MEPS, I took the other required tests in order to qualify for enlistment. The other tests were computer and psychological tests to see the individuals cyber knowledge and mental state.
After the test taking we had to wait for the bus to pick us up to our hotel due to MEPS being a two day process. One important piece of information, phones are not allowed anywhere in the facility. Phones and personal items including wallet are taken into storage until further
notice. We waited for eight hours in a room for the bus to arrive while all of us died of boredom
as we twiddle our thumbs for eternity. I made friends with two two other Marines and we luckily
had the first bus to drive to our hotel Embassy Suites. We were assigned roommates and were
free to do as we please until 10:00 pm our curfew. I was given dinner and I made new friends
with people who were enlisting in the Navy and the Army. We visited a mall that was less than a
mile away and enjoyed the peace and quiet. We later went home and I met my roommate that
was very kind and polite.
Day two was the Medical exams and personal background check followed by swearing into the Military. This day started with a blazing alarm at 4:00 am,had breakfast and prepared our things. We loaded into the bus and arrived back to MEPS for medical exams. This day was the longer, more challenging day. This day consisted with a hearing, drug, sight, and medical background test. The difficult part of the day was being practically interrogated by doctors and an officer confirming any answer that I have given previously “You stated that you have never done any illegal drugs, Is that true? You can tell me, it can be wavered if you have off. If you lie, you can face prosecution and up to five years in prison. You are aware of that correct?” etc. Having to hear the same questions over and over again were irritating but I got over that. The moment of truth arrived when I was called to swear in while an offer lead the ceremony. The self accomplishment and excitement I felt while stating the following sentence: “I (_____) do solemnly swear that I will defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign or domestic, that I will obey the orders of the Officers appointed over me, according to Regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice so help me so help me God... ” I was officially enlisted in the military. Ship date: June 29, 2020.
This experience was the beginning of me building up to my dream career and achieving my life goals, this being a major goal in my life. This has changed me as an individual because I
Day two was the Medical exams and personal background check followed by swearing into the Military. This day started with a blazing alarm at 4:00 am,had breakfast and prepared our things. We loaded into the bus and arrived back to MEPS for medical exams. This day was the longer, more challenging day. This day consisted with a hearing, drug, sight, and medical background test. The difficult part of the day was being practically interrogated by doctors and an officer confirming any answer that I have given previously “You stated that you have never done any illegal drugs, Is that true? You can tell me, it can be wavered if you have off. If you lie, you can face prosecution and up to five years in prison. You are aware of that correct?” etc. Having to hear the same questions over and over again were irritating but I got over that. The moment of truth arrived when I was called to swear in while an offer lead the ceremony. The self accomplishment and excitement I felt while stating the following sentence: “I (_____) do solemnly swear that I will defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign or domestic, that I will obey the orders of the Officers appointed over me, according to Regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice so help me so help me God... ” I was officially enlisted in the military. Ship date: June 29, 2020.
This experience was the beginning of me building up to my dream career and achieving my life goals, this being a major goal in my life. This has changed me as an individual because I
realize that we are all growing up and the adult world is right around the corner. I plan to enjoy
every little bit of childhood I can before I ship out to bootcamp.
17 comments:
Knowing you in real life really does help paint the picture from your descriptions here way better! Like I still remember you posting the swearing in on your instagram story, I can't say I wasn't intrigued by that story and wanted to kind of know what kinds of procedures you took out of pure curiosity. Seeing you describe the two day progress at the MEPS makes me wonder a bit thoug, is it really this simple? It looks pretty simple, maybe you had to prepare for the tests, but the procedures seem pretty easy. Your last sentence hits pretty hard though, enjoying what little of your normal teenager stuff before you go to bootcamp which will probably be very arduous. So props to you for going through with this even knowing that it'll probably be hard. And good luck!
Your reflection about growing up and eventually wanting to serve the country is honorable. Pretty representative of your character ever since I met you in sixth to which I wish you the best of luck and Nice piece overall!
This was wonderful for you to share your experience with us! Thank you for doing that. You are also very brave to enlist and protect our country and I know that many of us appreciate it. You are going to do big things and I know that you are happy!
How descriptive! Your sensory descriptions about how you "can feel intense pressure as if the gravity in the room has doubled or tripled" and when "died of boredom as we twiddle our thumbs for eternity" really illuminates how anticipating you were to be sworn in. The progression from your exposition (1st paragraph) to the testing session (2nd-4th paragraph) to your thoughts (5th paragraph) really takes us through your adventure! Great work, and congratulations!
This experience you have shared with everyone shows how much of a passion you have in serving your country. I have respect for the way you described your experience. Congratulations! and I hope your dreams coome true.
This really gives me a deeper understanding of the enlistment process than the little bits and pieces you have told me over time. I love how detailed the story was and the complexity you added to the times you were bored. I mean this in the most unsarcastic way possible, cool story bro!
Yishai, I respect the amount of courage and the amount of dedication that you have for your career goals. When I saw that you swore in on your Instagram story, it made me proud since I know how hard you have worked to get to the spot where you were; the amount of hours working out, the amount of weight that you have lost through out the years. Most importantly though, thank you for being willing to serve our country!
I really appreciate you writing about a topic such as this one. Many people do not understand the arduous process of enlisting into the military, so I love how you were able to educate and enlighten the audience for something that may be foreign to many. Your personal narrative at times came to a shock, with me now knowing what restrictions and requirements (tests, questions, etc.) are necessary for entry to the military. Great piece of work and thank you for your future service:) -Nathaniel Alvarado
Of course the first thing I am going to say is thank you for being willing to dedicate yourself to serving our country. I think the most striking part of your story for me is that you feel obligated to serve the country (Correct me if I am wrong) because of your family history and childhood dream. Overall, your story was amazing and incredibly informative on how the process to join the military is. -Isabella Patterson
The fact that you are joining the Marine Corps is very noble of you Yishai. I appreciate what you're doing for our country. I like how well the story progressed in a very chronological order. It made the story very interesting and easy to follow. Keep up the great work and thanks for your service Yishai!
I think it is very brave that you decided to serve our country. This was a really great story of the process you went through. I respect that you will protect our country and good luck!
First and foremost, I would like to congratulate you on your achievement. Knowing you in person there is no doubt that you will do great with your passionate about. You are such a hardworking person! I love how you organized the process of your enlistment; It was so informative and detailed! Great job!
The detail as to what occurred in your experience is awesome and provides a lot more depth to what you wrote. The whole experience is personal and life changing and you kept a positive attitude through it all, even with the most boring parts. I have a lot of respect for what you're doing and I hope you keep up the good work.
You are a really great storyteller and it was very interesting being able to hear about your personal experience. You did a great job of expressing your feelings of anxiety and nervousness and really made me feel like I could understand and relate to the nerves that you must have been going through with this experience.
I admire how passionate you are about this. You are such a hard working person and you always get to achieve every goal you put to yourself and I really like how you are able to demonstrate that in your piece. I like how you give background to be able to show how you got where you are now and what it means to you.
I really respect your courage and dedication for our country. Your story gives us a really in depth image of the process you go through when enlisting. Good luck in your service brother! - Cedrick Martinez
Wow! This was an amazing story. It seems that you show great interest in doing this which is great. You really exemplify true bravery.
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