And so the Muse strikes, late at night.

You raise your voice. You tell me you don't approve of my life choice. You tell me you think it would have been a better idea not to do this. Too late, I made my choice. For once I stood on my own, and I picked what I wanted to do, not what YOU wanted me to do. You think my choice is bad? What's that you're doing now? Speaking? Are you allowed to do that? Do you have the RIGHT to do that? Why yes, yes you do. And why do you have that right? Because Men and Women like me made a choice. We chose to do something bigger than ourselves. We chose to aspire to something greater. We chose to put on a uniform, and we chose to fight for millions of people we have never met, and will never meet.

We put on camouflage, and we march in a line for hours. We do push-ups in the pouring rain. We crawl under barbed wire while slugs of hot lead fly fast overhead. We crouch behind buildings as shreds of metal rip apart the rock that keeps our skin intact. We charge together as a group. What we alone do doesn't make THE difference, nor does it achieve the objective. But what we together do makes a difference, and what we choose to do ensures that YOU have the right to tell me you disagree.

So please, I'm not asking for your permission. This is my choice, not yours. I see the bigger picture. I understand that no system is perfect, and that you disagreeing and dissenting is the most patriotic thing that can be done. I'm not asking for your approval, nor for your understanding. Instead, I ask that you realize that I do what I do for me, and for the faceless out there that I will never meet. For a few years I will bow down and become a tooth on a gear, a piece of a machine. For a few years I will serve, and I will do all these things. For you.