Compare and Contrast

Realizing Life is Good

By: Adam Brown

3-19-2011

On a Tuesday morning I wake up at nine o’clock, stretch and then yawn while rolling around in my warm cozy bed. Immediately I can smell my mothers cooking, its bacon and eggs made exactly the way that I like them. I know that my life will soon change, but I can not even fathom the events that are about to transpire. Hours later I find myself walking off the bus for basic training surrounded by a group of large angry men screaming so hard they are spitting, “welcome to my world”! The men, otherwise known as Drill Sergeants, are herding us like livestock on a path to the slaughter house. They ridicule us to make us feel insignificant because they know that we are below them on the food chain. They line us up and tell us how they own us and we must bow to their command. There are many differences from the daily life of a soldier and that of a civilian. In the military they tell you where you need to be, the time you need to be there, and when you get to sleep; as a civilian you control your time and your day to day choices.

I am rudely awakened to the harsh reality that I am no longer a person, but rather a soldier. I am a product of the United States Army, and my opinion no longer matters. I must follow orders to fight a war regardless of my opinion on the subject. In school and in civilian life we encounter discussions where we voice our opinions on war, and the choices made by our President can be scrutinized without question. As a soldier our opinions are not to be heard. I see that as a civilian I take modern conveniences for granted, and the series of events that took place during my time as a soldier put my life into a whole new perspective.

The first luxury that I took for granted is being able to walk into the kitchen and make myself a sandwich. Unfortunately in the...