Personal Narrative: Transition With The Air Force

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As I walked into my local Mexican restaurant next to my old high school I was greeted by a friendly hostess who ushered me into the main dining room. The walls had portraits of the Spanish countryside and there was a fountain full of coins in the center. After scanning over a large group singing happy birthday and a family with little kids, I notice Matt is sitting in a side booth with a military baseball cap on. We exchanged simple pleasantries and immediately jumped into discussing the air force. Matt’s tone projected his excitement for the air force, but there was some obvious disappointment in his eyes. “I wanted to join for as long as I can remember,” Matt exclaimed, “unfortunately it didn’t go as planned.” The waiter interrupted us right as Matt started to explain his history with the Air Force. After enlisting at the beginning of his senior year of high school he spent the entire year waiting. Every fourth weekend of a month Matt spent his time doing drill at an Air Force base in Belle Chasse, Louisiana. Here they would train and take classes learning about the military. “It was long but everything I know about the military and training was learned here,” Matt said with a smile on his face. Finally, after he …show more content…

According to the American Council on Education, more than fifty million veterans are expected to transition into college by the year 2020. Transitioning from the structured life of the military to the more laid back life of a college student is not an easy one and there are many struggles veterans deal with. On average student veterans feel less involved in campus life and have an overall lower grade point average than civilian students (Badger, McCuddy, Olsen). This is thought to be a result of the fact that most student veterans are older. Also, many have commitments outside of school, like the 47% that have children (“Who Are Today 's Student