One Sec.

Can we all just take a second and appreciate the cuteness of this picture? 

I love this little man, his baby brother, and his little sissy. 

I just cannot get over this. 

so cute.

and if you don't think so, you suck.

no, no, no... i'm just kidding.

wait...

no. i'm not.

Hooah.

Seeing as I am typing this out right now, I survived my very first drill! Hooah! 

it was beyond scary.

Your first day at RSP Drill you are in "Red Phase". So you are in a classroom 65% of the day on Saturday. You report at 0830 and are in class till 1400. Chow isn't bad around the place, we had MREs for lunch on Saturday. With a MRE, it is literally a 2,000 calorie meal in a small 11x6 box. The strangest part is how it is actually good... I mean, will you find me just munching on one for kicks one day? No. But it was not as bad as some of the other meals. 

That night we did PT at the training center along with Agility Ball. 

SPOILER ALERT: AGILITY BALL IS THE DEVILS GAME.

PT wasn't too bad, it's strange... I'm not used to it. But it's somewhat like doing yoga but with more stretching. My whole company does it at the same time, like 100 young soldiers, just doing yoga.

LET'S GET TO AGILITY BALL. It's dodgeball, with the Army. The Sergeants spilt us up, like 50 on each team, and just let the horror begin. Here is the funny part, when you get hit, and by hit I mean demolished... you have to lay on the floor till two people on your team carry you off the court. 

Sleeping in the barracks weren't bad either, actually quite decent! That morning we got up, cleaned up, and had to run back to the Freedom Center. My platoon got in trouble, so we had to run in place for 30 minutes RIGHT before chow. Kill me. 

then we got to go to church.. *deep breath* honestly, that is probably what got my spirits back up!

The rest of the day we just had class on how to read maps. It was pretty cool. I was a little confused at first but the Sgt. explained it better to me, and now I get it. Watch out, just going to be scouting the wilderness. Errrrday. Our platoon had to do 50 push ups during class too. 

AWESOME.

I got to go home around 3 that day, which was an amazing feeling. I went straight to pick up my Hanny and to get food. Because I was a starving beast. We went to my beloved Church too, which had me soaring. A lot of people thanked me for my service, which is an amazing feeling. It almost renders you completely speechless...

Going out with friends afterwards made me feel even better. It just solidifies my heart in what I'm doing. It's scary, I will admit that. But i can do it. I will find my way, if I can be strong. I know every mile will be worth my while. I will go almost anywhere, to find where I belong.

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It means a lot to me to have everyone being so supportive of me. At first I was afraid nobody would be as supportive when I'm in my uniform, or ignore me, or think I am different now. Luckily, God blessed me with the most amazing support group, and I'm so happy! thank you for everything to everyone!

Go.

so this is me.

right here.

the girl in the pictures,

right over there.

and if you look very, very, very

closely you will see that there is a head on my shoulders. Inside that head, is a brain, that surprisingly enough belongs to me.

Would you look at that? 

The girl even has a few friends to throw in the mix! 

if you look very, very, very 

closely here you will see that these pictures contain

  moments. These moments, surprisingly enough belong to me. 

These moments make up something even more important to me, my life.

I'm sorry. If you don't agree with how I am living my life, then that is to stinkin' bad. These decisions I am making, the moments that I am living, are none of your concern. 

-I do drugs, I dropped out of school, I have a couple kids, I don't have a job, I sit at home all day, I drink, I don't go to Church, I don't speak to my family, and I curse every other word that comes from my mouth.

OH WAIT. NO.

-I'm a 19 year-old girl. I just joined the Army, I worked my butt off all through school, I have 2 different jobs, I work for all the money I spend, I've never drank, I've never smoked, I have a great family, I have an amazing people in my life that call me their own, and I have strong faith.

What in the world do you see wrong with that picture?

If you're mad at me for joining the Army, then good for you. I made these decisions because I wanted to do so. Unfortunately I didn't take into consideration any one else's opinion because it was up to me. This is my life that I'm living, so butt out. If you're mad at me for not spending every waking second with you before I leave? I've been alive for 19 years people. Just because I'm leaving for 8 months doesn't mean I will never be back. It is normal for young adults to leave home and move forward with their life! I cannot do so if I am constantly being torn back because of other people's selfish ways. If you cannot be supportive and happy for me, then do us both a favor and keep your mouth shut. 

If this seems harsh or out of line, then you are probably one of the people supporting me. But to those who think it is their business to tell me every decision I make is wrong, I've had enough. 

You've lived your life, let me live mine. 

if you want to call me and talk about my life, lets chat. if you want to ask me questions, lets go. if you want to voice some concerns, be smart. if you want to constantly dig on my choices, go away.

Honest?

HONESTLY, I am freaking out about my first drill this weekend.

I might wet my drawers, or uniform, whatever.

I report at 0830 on Saturday and stay until 0900 Sunday. 

waaahhhhhhhhhhh waaahhhhhhhh wahhhhhhhhh

it's really scary, like what am I supposed to do. 

what if I do it wrong?

what if I punch a cocky boy in the face?

oh...

Little Things.

So here I am, being Emilie... and I find that these new experiences in my life are turning me into a new person, with a whole new view on life and all the little things. 

Example A: being a role model to my little siblings, everyday. 

Now I know this isn't always possible, especially for me. When you're dealing with such little youngsters, it's beyond difficult to be the person you know you should be all the time. The attitude, the lack of listening, the fighting, the screaming, the fits. Sometimes it is about enough to drive me insane, and sometimes I just do not want to deal with it. Then, when I see them acting like me, or mimicking something that I do quite often I cannot help but smile. It literally makes my whole entire day. Since joining the Army I see how much my behavior and attitude really does affect them. 

                  -------------------
The best part is one of the little men loves to play Army with me. We run around shooting bad guys, or begin snipers, or even marching... he just loves it! The oldest brother likes to play that too, but his is a little more intense. When they have their Army hats on running around, it really makes me appreciate soldiers and what they do for their families. You may not notice it right away, but kids look up to soldiers like nobody else. I would be lying if I said I wasn't excited to be a hero to some little squirt looking up to me with big eyes.

Today this little and I played Army for a solid hour and a half. It was easily the highlight of my week. Let us not forget that for the first time in months it was above 50 degrees, and we could actually run around outside and scam and holler without driving Mama Bear nuts. Just the way he calls me soldier, marches around, or even pretends to shoot aliens makes me smile.  I guess what I am babbling about here is just how much this is changing my perspective on how I present myself. Can you tell that I love them?