I was a first year cadet in AFJROTC. I loved the program, and I was determined to become the Core Commander my senior year. I made a bad decision a quarter of the way into my first semester of ninth grade. My flight commander was in another class, and I walked by and called him out using a derogatory name, which infuriated him. The incident was taken up the chain of command, until the Senior Aerospace Science Instructor decided that the best punishment was a demotion. I became speechless, filled with regret and sorrow. I wanted to take the one word back that had changed my high school experience forever. I had not only failed myself, but I had also failed those who looked up to me as a leader. I never told my dad because I felt too ashamed