I woke up suddenly; I felt as if I really was at the mercy of howling gale and waves of surf and storm. My face was wet from sweat as if I was splashed by hundreds upon hundreds of gallons of water. I was dizzy and my head was in extreme pain as my bed felt like a rocking boat. I could have sworn I was hearing waves and I could have sworn that there was a distinctive aroma of salt water filling my room. However, as I pulled my head up from the comfort of my pillow, there was nothing. Everything was dark and all I could hear was the white noise of my fan ten feet away. This wasn’t the first time; my family’s stories really pierced their way into my mind.
Though I have no real recollection of the events that unfolded when my father escaped communist Vietnam by boat to go to the United States, I will always remember his stories as if I was really there. I will always remember the tone of his voice and the movement of his lips as he
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America changed him; America changed us all. In that conversation, I realized what my father had that I didn’t and that was an appreciation for life. He had left his home and family back in Vietnam to create a better life and future for himself and the family that he would eventually create. At that moment, I knew what future was to fall before me. In that one hour of eye-opening realization, I knew exactly how I was to draw my life. I vowed to dedicate my life to the betterment of other people and to put them before my own self. I was given an amazing childhood and it was time that I paid back my debt. With this newfound aspiration, I aimed all my efforts into becoming an officer of the United States military where I could feed my devotion to duty for those who did not have the same luxuries as me growing up. For the people who fought for people like me, I want to continue their goals. No more would I live off others but rather live for