Hey guys, first off I wanna say thank you. Thank you for your service to this country, for your sacrifice, but most of all for this podcast. It’s keeping me going through my never quit journey, which I am in the thick of right now. My story isn’t very long or heavy-hitting as some of the other stories I’ve heard and read. But it is my struggle, and it’s definitely heavy for me. Back in 2014, I attempted to enlist in the Army and was disqualified due to self-harm issues that had occurred five years prior. Shouldn’t have been an issue but I marked it on the med form and was subsequently disqualified from service. I took that as a message from God telling me “not yet”. That I should finish college first.
Jump to May of 2019. I get back to MEPS to get a waiver for that. I haven’t committed any self-harm act since I was 13. Too bad my hearing in my right ear is just screwy enough to screw up that waiver request. I was denied again. It is now June. I’m told by my recruiter that if I get a hearing test done and pass that one that they can submit for another physical for a waiver that includes my hearing. Appointment is made but I’m unable to get it done until mid-August. I also have to pay out of pocket because I don’t have insurance and even if I had insurance through my job I’d still have to pay out of pocket because the deductible is insanely high. And then I have to actually pass the test.
Military service is the ONE thing I’ve ever actually wanted for my life. If I don’t get in I have to completely replan my future. A daunting task for a 23 year old living 300+ miles from family. But these questions keep me pushing forward. What does one do when their dreams are pulled out from under them? Does that person give up? Or do they kit-up, cinch-up, look defeat in the face and give it the finger and keep pushing forward? Thankfully, I am a part of Team Never Quit, and I know the answer to those questions. May God bless you guys. I’ll write in again with an update when I have an update.
PS, I’d appreciate any and all prayers thrown my way, because this is really stressing me out!
PPS, yes, that is me in the picture with the corporal stripes. I was down in Mississippi for a Civil War reenactment in that photo.
