I figured I'd share a little backstory about myself on here to let you guys know who I am. This was written 1-21-2010.
I haven't always been a big kid, for a long time I was skinny as a rail. My distaste for physical activity at the time, and a insatiable appetite have left me where I am now. I'm about 220 as I write this. While that might sound like alot to some of you I used to be 300-315. Years of no exercise and eating whatever I wanted to left me feeling sick most of the time, and dampered most of my social life throughout middle/high school.
When I finally got out of school I really didn't look into the future much.. I guess I wasn't the most motivated of people, but due to unforeseen family circumstances I have had to remain here and help out for the last 3 years. I don't mind living with my family still, but it's given me alot of time to think about what I want to do with my life.. which brings me to my point. I've decided that I'm going to become a Air Force Pararescueman. While this sounds a bit drastic for the normal "fat guy finds his higher calling which allows him to do what he loves while maintaining a level of fatness" let me explain..
At the end of 2007 when I was becoming a legal adult "yay".. I started getting alot of mail from the military about joining up. At the time I shrugged it off because I wasn't looking for something like that, and I just ignored the calls and letters for the time being. It slowly died down as the year progressed and I put it into the back of my mind while I focused on other stuff (online gaming). Towards the middle of 2007 I decided that I was tired of being in generally poor overall shape.. and I began to change my habits around with the help of my Step-dad. I started eating right for the most part, drinking mostly water.. and occasionally working out. It didn't take long for me to start feeling better and I decided that I was going to stick with it. By the end of 2007 I had dropped about 30lbs and was sticking to it for the most part.
In 2007 I was working for a cleaning company, and I wasn't very happy with the job. I started to think about what I wanted to do with my life and started to consider the military as a possible option. January 2008 came around and I decided that I would go talk to a Marine Corps recruiter.. (yes it was the dress blues with the sword commercial). I weighed 269lbs and couldn't do more than 2 push-ups when I went in there, and he made it clear I would have to really up my game to make it in the military. I still lacked the hardcore motivation to make myself do things on a daily basis, but I was making myself do more, it just wasn't enough. I hit a wall around the end of 2008 and I couldn't seem to make myself do what I knew was right. Things stayed this way for months untill April 2009.
April 2009 was the first time I'd heard about airsoft on a large scale, I'd known about the cheap walmart guns for a while but never got into it much. My friend Jonathon (Apollo on Airsoft Ohio) told me there was a game in April that he was attending and wanted to me to go with him. We had no idea that Crimson Dawn 2 would be as much fun as it was. Ever since that day I've been hooked on airsoft. It was a fun hobby and great exercise.. and It really hooked me on the military. I'd been debating with my step-dad on the idea of joining the Marines because he didn't want me to go in for infantry, he said "If you're going to join you should find something you can make a career out of". I thought about what he'd said and as I talked to more and more former military members they all seemed to validate his point. I started looking around at different jobs in the Marines but nothing really seemed to peak my interest.
During the Summer of 2009 I started seeing commercials on the military channel for a new show coming out called "Special Ops Mission" and I heard the phrase Pararescueman. I looked it up on wikipedia and was surprised to read about what seemed to be some of the United States most elite soldiers. My interest in the Pararescue program was fueled throughout the shows airing and it stuck with me ever since. I wanted a way to be able to really test myself physically, mentally, and to make a career out of my time in the military. I found that in the PJ's. From the time the show ended in Fall 2009 to now I've done a lot for myself physically. I couldn't do a push-up when I started working out again, I'm up to 15 without a problem now. I feel and look a lot better than I ever have, and I plan to continue until I reach my goal. I know it's going to be a long and arduos road ahead of me, but I intend to stick with it and do something I can be extremely proud of.
I think that if it wasn't for my step-dad really pushing me towards looking at other options I wouldn't have found what I consider the perfect job for myself. I'm willing to get up everyday and work my hardest knowing that someday I might be able to save someone's life. It's their duty to put other people before their own comforts and desires, and I plan to make it mine as well. I will write more blogs to keep up with physical progression of myself as time goes on, as of the moment I can do 15 push-ups, 20 sit-ups, 30 4-count flutter kicks. I'm no where near the physical shape I need to be.. but it's 80% mental right?.. I can fix the 20%.
I'd like to say thank you for anyone who is currently serving or has served, you guys are the real deal and I have nothing but respect for you, and thank you to anyones who's encouraged me so far.. I appreciate it.
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