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Del ANO by Robert Shoaf
I was reflecting on some of the notes written about me in my Del Ano yearbook. It made me think:
We were so quick to get out of that town, some of us. The rest either couldn't or wouldn't. Our ties were to our dreams. Some dreamt huge and are living it, others had dreams, but couldn't figure out what they meant. It was the latter that chased with a fervent vigor that have realized what comes when the potential is tapped.
Mr. Martin taught us the difference between potential and kinetic energy. We also learned what a catalyst was. Even more so, we also learned that his truck had a slight lean to the left. I wasn't much into physics or chemestry, but I was intrigued when I learned new things.
I have now been able to tap heavily into my dreams and what they mean. I was brought back to reality recently, a humble reality that the Marine Corps has done all that it is going to do for me. I am a PROUD MARINE and for everything that it has done, I can only repay back by service outside the wonderful corps.
From the change in lifestyle that this service fosters to the incorporation of my previous life, I feel that I am truely ready to step out into your world, at least for the majority of America. There is a capability that I now possess that, if not properly used, should be punishable. I am leaving this wonderful Corps of Marines after almost 12 years of faithful service. The past decaded has provided me with a lifetime worth of tools and gifts that I now feel obligated to bring back to the Golden Empire.
From leadership to stewardship; from defeat to victory; even from the lowest of lows to the highest of highs; I have experienced much more than the average 30 year old. I have experienced first hand what determination, courage, confidence, and pride can do to a person and, much more valuable, to a group of persons. I know the true measure of a team with a common goal. And with all these things, I can tell you the result is incomprehensable. No value can be put on the things that every Marine has experienced in the times when the unimaginable became reality. This group of personified superlatives displays time and time again the ability to "do more with less".
As I turn my eyes from the past to the future, the scenes of the past flash before my eyes. Only I can make clear the blurred visions of a dozen years. Subjects, people, and circumstances change, but one common question prevails: How am I going to apply my experiences to better my community?
But first, a quick moment to reflect on my quick exit from my community, family, and friends. I was out in a flash. I wanted to leave. There was no future for me in McFarland or Delano. All I knew was confined to a small corner in a vast world. My life skills lacked in so many areas that my dreams could only be described as Tule Fog on a cool winters morning. The echoes of my future were unclear, but I knew I had to follow them. There was no time for caution, and the only direction I had was the experience of The Few that had paved the road ahead of me. As many may know, the only way out of the fog is to climb the mountain or wait for the sun. I couldn't wait.
I have begun my decent.
I am careful to take with me the tools that make men succeed. I am excited to be an exotrinsic source of positive morals, effective leadership, and efficient work ethic. I have high hopes and been prepared for the worst. With a can do attitude and a gung ho persona, I will smoothly integrate myself into a society that has endured without me.
It is my hope that a grand "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" parade is not held for me, for I am just less than one percent of a greater lot of heros who are more deserving. I hope to return in the same manner as when I left: Mom and Dad standing in front of the door, hugging and crying, while my two brothers sit inside, as I pull up in a lonely vehicle with the one who will help guide me through the next step in my life.
Although I return to the same source of the fog and pollution, I am better equipped to navigate through them. I now know my lot in life. Give so others will benifit, protect so others can thrive, encourage so others can endure. All of this along with the full knowledge that I may never see the return of my investment.
As I draw to a close this peering into my mind's eye and the current chapter in my life, I look to the records of Del Ano[s] before. I smile as I read the wonderful things written about me.
What kind of writing will I influence next?
We were so quick to get out of that town, some of us. The rest either couldn't or wouldn't. Our ties were to our dreams. Some dreamt huge and are living it, others had dreams, but couldn't figure out what they meant. It was the latter that chased with a fervent vigor that have realized what comes when the potential is tapped.
Mr. Martin taught us the difference between potential and kinetic energy. We also learned what a catalyst was. Even more so, we also learned that his truck had a slight lean to the left. I wasn't much into physics or chemestry, but I was intrigued when I learned new things.
I have now been able to tap heavily into my dreams and what they mean. I was brought back to reality recently, a humble reality that the Marine Corps has done all that it is going to do for me. I am a PROUD MARINE and for everything that it has done, I can only repay back by service outside the wonderful corps.
From the change in lifestyle that this service fosters to the incorporation of my previous life, I feel that I am truely ready to step out into your world, at least for the majority of America. There is a capability that I now possess that, if not properly used, should be punishable. I am leaving this wonderful Corps of Marines after almost 12 years of faithful service. The past decaded has provided me with a lifetime worth of tools and gifts that I now feel obligated to bring back to the Golden Empire.
From leadership to stewardship; from defeat to victory; even from the lowest of lows to the highest of highs; I have experienced much more than the average 30 year old. I have experienced first hand what determination, courage, confidence, and pride can do to a person and, much more valuable, to a group of persons. I know the true measure of a team with a common goal. And with all these things, I can tell you the result is incomprehensable. No value can be put on the things that every Marine has experienced in the times when the unimaginable became reality. This group of personified superlatives displays time and time again the ability to "do more with less".
As I turn my eyes from the past to the future, the scenes of the past flash before my eyes. Only I can make clear the blurred visions of a dozen years. Subjects, people, and circumstances change, but one common question prevails: How am I going to apply my experiences to better my community?
But first, a quick moment to reflect on my quick exit from my community, family, and friends. I was out in a flash. I wanted to leave. There was no future for me in McFarland or Delano. All I knew was confined to a small corner in a vast world. My life skills lacked in so many areas that my dreams could only be described as Tule Fog on a cool winters morning. The echoes of my future were unclear, but I knew I had to follow them. There was no time for caution, and the only direction I had was the experience of The Few that had paved the road ahead of me. As many may know, the only way out of the fog is to climb the mountain or wait for the sun. I couldn't wait.
I have begun my decent.
I am careful to take with me the tools that make men succeed. I am excited to be an exotrinsic source of positive morals, effective leadership, and efficient work ethic. I have high hopes and been prepared for the worst. With a can do attitude and a gung ho persona, I will smoothly integrate myself into a society that has endured without me.
It is my hope that a grand "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" parade is not held for me, for I am just less than one percent of a greater lot of heros who are more deserving. I hope to return in the same manner as when I left: Mom and Dad standing in front of the door, hugging and crying, while my two brothers sit inside, as I pull up in a lonely vehicle with the one who will help guide me through the next step in my life.
Although I return to the same source of the fog and pollution, I am better equipped to navigate through them. I now know my lot in life. Give so others will benifit, protect so others can thrive, encourage so others can endure. All of this along with the full knowledge that I may never see the return of my investment.
As I draw to a close this peering into my mind's eye and the current chapter in my life, I look to the records of Del Ano[s] before. I smile as I read the wonderful things written about me.
What kind of writing will I influence next?
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