I’ve said it time and time again: Time flies by.
I was driving to a doctor’s appointment with my daughter yesterday when she said something to me about my son and the military. She started the conversation by stating that we needed to keep him off TikTok for a while.
I was confused about what she meant because my son is only fourteen and nowhere near military age. My daughter then proceeded to tell me that my son had commented on his opinion of the military being a fun and relaxing time.
At that moment, I was beyond thankful that my son was too young to sign up for the military. However, next year is a whole other ball field. Military recruits set up at the high school and get kids as young as their freshmen excited to get on an army waitlist. Although legally, they cannot officially sign up for a waitlist until age seventeen (with parental approval).
This brought up some extremely concerning subjects for me. Please don’t hear me wrong; I have nothing against the military. I do, however, have concerns about someone joining the military without all the correct information they could have.
For my son to think it is a lighthearted event where I quote:
“They don’t do anything but hang out with friends, make TikTok videos, and sometimes shoot at targets when they are bored.”
Yes! Sadly, that is an actual quote from my fourteen-year-old son.
My son does not see or even hear about the struggles of war and combat with the military accounts he follows on TikTok.
He doesn’t know that the soldiers are most likely using TikTok as a downtime to forget all the horrors they may have just witnessed.
He doesn’t quite grasp the haunting that often follows soldiers through a lifetime of PTSD, Depression, Anxiety, thoughts of suicide, and so on. Not to mention soldiers who return home without a limb or two.
All he sees are the highlights of the military—the travel, camaraderie, and feelings of adequacy.
It’s funny: a few years ago, my husband and I joined our local gym. My son liked the idea of gaining some muscle, as he is a very scrawny boy, and he asked us if he could join us.
We were happy to oblige and got him a membership as well. Two days into his workout routine, he decided he no longer wanted to workout because it was too much “work.”
I can’t help but laugh at this as I try to picture my son joining the military only to want out two days later because “it’s too much.”
As I continued talking with my daughter about my son and their conversation, I couldn’t help but think about how much can change in such a short time.
Sure, two years ago, my son was unable to workout because it was ‘too much’. That does not mean that he will still feel like it’s ‘too much in three more years.’ For all I know, my son would excel in the military. And as we know all too well, time continues on whether we are ready or not.
My hope for my son and others out there alike is that when the time comes and, a decision has to be made. To join or not to join, I hope that everyone is adequately informed with as much information as possible about something as life-changing as the Military.
Time goes by quickly, and with that, there are many changes. Sometimes, I worry about the youth in our military, and I hope, more than anything, they know ahead of time more than what my son seems to know now. Or rather, what my son seems to think he knows about the military now.
I can’t help but think about how different our lives have changed in the last five years; heck, it's changed drastically even in the previous year alone.
Let’s take a moment and go back to pre-COVID. I think it’s safe to say nearly everyone was impacted by the pandemic somehow. Maybe you didn’t realize how much your life had changed in such a short time as a year.
To have teenagers sign up for the military at such a young age and to start putting it in their heads as young as their freshman…It’s wild to think about. These poor kids don’t even know what they’ve gotten themselves into.
I want to ask you to close your eyes and ask yourself, how is my life different than five years ago, three years ago, even one year ago? The differences might surprise you. It could be a small change, but maybe not.
This made me wonder, what are some things that you do now that you didn’t do even a year ago? How have you changed? How have you grown? If you were someone who joined the military at such a young age, do you feel you knew without a doubt what you were getting yourself into? I’d love to hear your thoughts/comments.
Thank you to everyone who made it to the end of this article. Perhaps you might offer a clap, share, and/or comment if you enjoyed it. Like I said, I’d love to hear from you!
Tammie is an aspiring health and wellness coach with a background in the school system. She has worked with kids from preschool through sixth grade and the SPED and library departments. Tammie is currently taking a writing class. She has three kids, two dogs, and one amazing husband. You can often find her sitting on her front porch and watching all the cool kids play in her yard. You can also find her at https://www.tammie-fralick.com.