11 Years in the Army: What I’d Tell My Younger Self

Yesterday was my birthday, and babyyyy… I had a BLAST!

The love was honestly too much. At one point, I literally got on my knees just to say a big thank You to God because I genuinely don’t know what I have done to deserve so much love.

I felt so loved, celebrated, and grateful.

I’m getting too old to be sharing all my beautiful birthday moments but I’ll save those stories for another day. I’ll talk more about the lessons I learned and what this new year of life is teaching me in my next post.

But today is about something else.Today makes 11 years since I joined the Army.

Eleven years.

Honestly, it feels like yesterday.

I remember going to downtown Houston MEPS on my freaking birthday because, apparently, signing your life away wasn’t enough, you also had to sleep at the Army-designated hotel the night before.

I remember my recruiter picking me up from school and taking me straight to MEPS.

At the time, I didn’t document much of the experience because, honestly, I wasn’t really into writing or documenting my life like I am now. Looking back, I wish I had written more down because there are so many moments I would love to revisit.

My journey, both as a civilian and as a military service member, has not been linear.

And maybe that’s one of the biggest things I’ve learned.

Life rarely goes exactly according to the plan you made for yourself.

The ROTC Road I Didn’t Take

Interestingly, it was after Basic Training that I explored ROTC.

During my undergraduate years, when I was a junior, I went to check out the ROTC program at my school.

Honestly, I was impressed.

I met with the head of the ROTC program, CPT Y, and he asked me a ton of questions.

He told me he saw a lot of qualities in me and encouraged me to consider commissioning.

At that point, however, I had a problem.

When they mapped out the ROTC requirements and my schedule, I realized I would have to stay in school for another two years.

And young me was like:

Absolutely not.

I only needed two more semesters to graduate, and I was not willing to change that plan.

Stubborn?

Maybe.

Resilient? Absolutely.

CPT Y encouraged me to take a special problems course that was part of the requirements for seniors graduating that semester, that i would have also ended up taking as a senior if i joined. It was a military science course, and I reluctantly agreed.

My professor was a MAJ, MAJ Rodriguez.

He was outstanding.

I remember being nervous during the first couple of weeks because the seniors in the class were so high-speed, confident, and bold. Meanwhile, I was sitting there trying to figure out what I had gotten myself into.

Eventually, though, I caught up.

I was even invited to their graduation ceremony, and I attended.

It was beautiful.

Afterward, I had another conversation with CPT Y to see if I had changed my mind.

I hadn’t.

My answer was still the same.

No.

If I had taken that route back then, I would have been much further along in my officer career by now, potentially a captain promotable to major.

But honestly?

That wasn’t what I wanted at that time.

I wanted to finish school.

I wanted to go to medical school.

And I wanted to commission after medical school, not before.

I stood on that decision.

And interestingly enough, I ended up really enjoying the NCO route.

Sometimes we have a picture of what our career should look like, but God sees the entire picture when we can only see the next few steps.

What 11 Years in the Army Have Taught Me

Looking back, I’ve learned a lot.

If I could sit down with my younger self or with a young Soldier who is joining the Army, already serving, or feeling a little lost; these are some of the things I would say.

1. Nobody cares about your career as much as you do.

Your career is ultimately your responsibility.

People can advise you, mentor you, encourage you, or open doors for you.

But you have to walk through them.

Pay attention to your career.

Ask questions.

Learn the requirements.

Find mentors.

Don’t assume someone else is going to care about your career more than you do.

2. The Army has resources. USE THEM.

Seriously.

There are so many resources available to Soldiers and their families.

Use them.

Don’t be too proud or embarrassed to ask for help.

One resource I’ve personally seen mentioned frequently is Military OneSource, which provides support and information on areas such as finances, relationships, family life, and counseling.

Sometimes the resource you need already exists, you just have to ask.

3. Don’t make complaining your personality.

This one is especially important.

It is very easy to get comfortable complaining, especially in the Reserves.

The Army gives you plenty of material to complain about.

But if you’re not careful, complaining can become a cycle.

You complain about the unit.

Then the next unit.

Then the next assignment.

Then leadership.

Then Soldiers.

Then policies.

At some point, you have to ask yourself:

Am I actually trying to improve my situation, or have I just gotten comfortable complaining about it?

4. Get comfortable with people asking, “Are you still in the Army?”

Apparently, staying in the Army for a while is shocking to some people.

I’ve heard things like:

“Oh, you’re STILL in the Army?”

“I wonder why you’re still in.”

My response?

Because I’m still here.

Over time, I’ve realized that people have different reasons for leaving, staying, changing careers, or pursuing different opportunities.

Don’t let someone else’s timeline make you question yours.

5. Know your WHY.

This might be one of the most important lessons.

Know why you’re doing what you’re doing.

Because there will be difficult days.

There will be frustrating assignments.

There will be moments when you question your decisions.

Your why becomes the thing you return to when motivation isn’t enough.

6. You are a leader too.

Leadership isn’t only about rank.

You can lead while still learning.

Be humble.

Be approachable.

Be teachable.

And understand that you can learn from people who are junior to you just as much as you can learn from people senior to you.

7. There are still bullies in the Army. Be an empath.

Rank doesn’t automatically make someone a good leader.

Position doesn’t automatically make someone a good person.

And unfortunately, bullying and toxic behavior can still happen.

Don’t become the person who makes someone else dread coming to work.

Remember that everyone you encounter is carrying something you may know nothing about.

Be an empath.

8. Treat people with respect.

Don’t be the reason another Soldier starts hating their unit.

Don’t be the reason someone feels like they don’t belong.

You don’t have to be best friends with everyone.

But you can treat people with dignity and respect.

You never know how much one interaction might affect someone.

9. Again… USE THE RESOURCES.

I’m repeating this because it’s important.

Military OneSource, for example, offers resources related to financial counseling, family support, counseling, relationships, and other areas of life.

Don’t wait until you’re drowning to look for a life jacket.

10. Ask questions.

There are so many intelligent people in the Army.

Ask questions.

You don’t have to pretend you know everything.

Being afraid to ask a question because you’re worried someone might think you don’t know something can hold you back.

Ask. Learn. Apply.

11. Don’t let one experience make the decision for you.

One bad leader doesn’t mean every leader is bad.

One bad unit doesn’t mean every unit is bad.

One difficult assignment doesn’t mean your entire career will be difficult.

One experience is one experience.

Give yourself permission to experience something different before deciding that the entire Army is the same.

BONUS: If You Don’t Like Your Unit, Try Another One.

This one is personal.

At one point in my career, I was in a unit that wasn’t challenging me and, in my opinion, wasn’t helping me grow the way I wanted to.

Eventually, I got promoted out.

And I was scared.

Someone had made me feel like I couldn’t make it in a training unit.

But I decided to take the opportunity anyway.

And looking back?

I will forever be thankful that I left the place where I felt like my growth was being stunted.

Sometimes we become so afraid of change that we stay in environments that no longer serve us.

Don’t be afraid to change.

A Biblical Story That Came to Mind

As I was reflecting on my journey, I thought about Abraham.

One thing that stands out to me about Abraham’s story is that God didn’t give him the entire roadmap before he started moving. In Genesis 12, God called Abraham to leave his country, his relatives, and his father’s household and go to a land that He would show him.

That reminds me of how life can be.

Sometimes we make plans based on what we can see at the moment. We think we know exactly what the next few years should look like, only for life to take us in a completely different direction.

Looking back at my own journey, there were paths I considered, decisions I made, and opportunities I turned down because they didn’t align with what I believed I was supposed to do at that time.

The ROTC route was one of them.

I could have gone down a completely different military career path. But I chose to finish my degree, continue serving as an NCO, and pursue medical school.

Eleven years later, I can look back and see that every season taught me something.

I don’t always know what the next chapter will look like, but I’ve learned that I don’t need to have the entire picture before taking the next step.

“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.” — Proverbs 16:9

Maybe that’s one of the biggest lessons this journey has taught me: make the plans, do your part, but leave room for God to redirect the route.

11 Years Later

Overall, life has been good.

Not perfect.

Not linear.

But good.

The Army has taught me discipline, patience, resilience, leadership, humility, and perhaps most importantly how much there is still left to learn.

I’m also working toward creating helpful Army-related videos on my YouTube channel once I get back on there.

I want to share the things I wish someone had told me when I was younger.

And if God gives me the grace?

We’re going 16 more years, baby.

Maybe even more.

To everyone who has supported me throughout this journey, whether you’ve been there from the beginning or you’ve only recently become part of my story:

Thank you.

Eleven years ago, I couldn’t have imagined all the places this journey would take me.

And honestly?

I’m still curious to see where God takes me next.

11 years down.
16+ to go.
One step at a time. Hooah 🇺🇸