Dear Friend,
It's been a while since I last wrote you and I'm sorry about that. I have been swamped with midterms, Chemistry, ROTC, and trying to finish my application to the Naval Academy. As you know I have been dating Jenna for a long time, just about ten months! We have been having a difficult streak in our relationship, kinda like falling into a rut. But it has been getting a little better just recently.
Have I ever told you how beautiful Jenna is? It would be impossible to describe her exactly, but I’ll try. She has such beautiful eyes that when you look into them, you really can't look away. There have been several times where she asks, "what are you looking at?" and all I can say is, "just you!" She is so kind and outgoing, a genuine caring for people who are in need. I can't help thinking about her when I here that song, "We're in heaven" and knowing that whenever you are with that special person nothing else matters. Just you and them. That is how beautiful Jenna is, the kind of beauty that melts away everything around you that doesn't really matter.
My dad mentioned something about his “glory days” last night. When he fenced in college and how he went to the National Championships in New York City. It got me thinking about my glory days. I don’t think I have had them, because nothing too special has happened in my life yet. I think they will be a few days down the road when I’m serving in the Marine Corps and fighting terrorists around the world. I see myself leading troops into battle seeing the carnage that lies before me and know that nothing will stop us, because we are the world’s strongest fighting force. US Marines. That’s what I think will be my glory days. I really look forward to them; I wish I could be doing that right now!
I’m also excited about the upcoming holidays. We used to have my Aunt and Uncle over for Christmas every year, but we a couple years ago they mentioned how they haven’t been happy for a very long time, and they’ve just been acting. Which by the way must have been pretty poor acting because my Aunt was never very nice to my Uncle. They soon got a divorce and surprisingly enough they were much happier! Sometimes my Aunt comes down from Wyoming for Christmas but the last couple years we drive to Arizona and see my Grandma. She is always so excited when we come over and see her. We all like seeing her too, because she is the kind of Grandma that loves to spoil you. We always spend some extra time there at her house and do everything that she wants changed like hanging blinds or putting in fans ect. I do love the holidays though. Its definitely my favorite time of the year.
Love,
Justin
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Lessons I've Learned
Dear Friend,
This week has been crazy. Lots of homework and ROTC stuff. I love it to death, but it is really wearing on me. I have a midterm and a test next Wednesday to be studying and my Personal Statement needs to be written for the Naval Academy. But I was thinking about all the important things that have really changed my life and shown me something new. I thought I might share a couple of them with you.
Just about a year ago, when I had been dating Jenna for a few months one of my best friends, Nathan, said something that really made her mad. As you already know, my personality is a fixer. If there’s a problem I want to fix it and find the answer. I don’t know why, but I do know that it can be a problem for sure. So first, being a good boyfriend I take my girl’s side and tell Nathan to apologize, but he says he refuses to apologize for something that he doesn’t think was wrong. Which just made me mad, so I try to get his girlfriend to tell him to apologize, but that doesn’t work. I keep at this for probably a week, and I am just getting so angry at my friend that I can’t stand him! It isn’t so much because he pissed off Jenna, but because I can’t win! So I give up on him and try to work on Jenna and mention that it wasn’t that a big of a deal and maybe she overreacted……ya, not a good way to phrase that. Well that approach just made it worse. Now my friend is sick of me bugging him, and my girlfriend is pissed at me too. Obviously this isn’t going to work and I should bale out. I admit defeat, and stop trying to play “peacekeeper” with the whole situation and get my nose out of their business. It was a pretty sticky situation, but since I got out when I did I managed to save both relationships. What I learned and want you to learn is, don’t get in the middle of two good friends when they are fighting, because either you will lose one friend, or they will both hate you.
When I was about 14 years old I went on a backpacking trip with Boy Scouts and my Dad was able to come. We ended up backpacking around 60 miles in a week. It was so much fun, but really demanding. There were times that I really wanted to quit, but my dad was always there keeping me going. But the last day we had to walk about 10 miles with our packs which weighed about 40 pounds! At that time it was a ton of weight. But that day was hard for my dad, he hung in there but was really struggling, but he always had his pride of doing this trek so he never quit. He fought through it. We went back there four years later now I was 18, and in my prime. I carried a pack that weighed 70-95 pounds. It varied day to day on how much group gear I would carry, and if our little guy, Luke, needed help. But there were several days where my dad would mention himself as too fat and too old. The last day was very similar to the day four years before. It was 12 miles total, part of it being up a mountain, then back down the other side. About 6-7 miles till the end, after the mountain thankfully, my dad really messed up his ankle. The pain was obviously extreme because I remembered my dad’s pride. And it was so hard for him to let us split up his gear between the rest of the crew. I hiked the last miles fighting it with my dad. Seeing him never give up, even through the intense pain. Through this whole situation I learned how so often people change. Many people see there dad as a super hero, who is invincible and never does anything wrong. I was one of those kids way back when. But then you see things how they really are. My dad is just another adult who takes care of me and is there for me. I’m so thankful for that trek, because it really did show me that sometimes people do change, and our perception of people change, but some things never change. My dad will always be a fighter, a warrior, who will never give up. It’s important to look for these characteristics; it shows us who that person really is. I respect and look up to my dad so much for being the man he is, and that trek reminded me of that.
In my English class we are reading the book Perks of Being a Wallflower. There is a part where the main character Charlie says he feels “Infinite” I was thinking what does that mean to me? I think I would have to say that feeling infinite is when you get to experience something new and exciting with someone who you are really close to. A time where there is no real pressure to perform or do something correctly, but something relaxed and where you can be yourself with that special person. It could be seeing the most amazing movie with someone and the end finishes so perfectly that you just stay sitting in your seat for a minute and look at that person and say, “Wow”. And that’s it. That’s all you have to say. Or getting to see a meteor shower with your dad and you feel like you two might be the only ones seeing it. And you put your arm on his shoulder and just take a moment and are in awe together. I think that is what feeling infinite is to me. Just spending those moments with someone truly close to you where you are just taken back for a moment. That’s infinite.
Love,
Justin
This week has been crazy. Lots of homework and ROTC stuff. I love it to death, but it is really wearing on me. I have a midterm and a test next Wednesday to be studying and my Personal Statement needs to be written for the Naval Academy. But I was thinking about all the important things that have really changed my life and shown me something new. I thought I might share a couple of them with you.
Just about a year ago, when I had been dating Jenna for a few months one of my best friends, Nathan, said something that really made her mad. As you already know, my personality is a fixer. If there’s a problem I want to fix it and find the answer. I don’t know why, but I do know that it can be a problem for sure. So first, being a good boyfriend I take my girl’s side and tell Nathan to apologize, but he says he refuses to apologize for something that he doesn’t think was wrong. Which just made me mad, so I try to get his girlfriend to tell him to apologize, but that doesn’t work. I keep at this for probably a week, and I am just getting so angry at my friend that I can’t stand him! It isn’t so much because he pissed off Jenna, but because I can’t win! So I give up on him and try to work on Jenna and mention that it wasn’t that a big of a deal and maybe she overreacted……ya, not a good way to phrase that. Well that approach just made it worse. Now my friend is sick of me bugging him, and my girlfriend is pissed at me too. Obviously this isn’t going to work and I should bale out. I admit defeat, and stop trying to play “peacekeeper” with the whole situation and get my nose out of their business. It was a pretty sticky situation, but since I got out when I did I managed to save both relationships. What I learned and want you to learn is, don’t get in the middle of two good friends when they are fighting, because either you will lose one friend, or they will both hate you.
When I was about 14 years old I went on a backpacking trip with Boy Scouts and my Dad was able to come. We ended up backpacking around 60 miles in a week. It was so much fun, but really demanding. There were times that I really wanted to quit, but my dad was always there keeping me going. But the last day we had to walk about 10 miles with our packs which weighed about 40 pounds! At that time it was a ton of weight. But that day was hard for my dad, he hung in there but was really struggling, but he always had his pride of doing this trek so he never quit. He fought through it. We went back there four years later now I was 18, and in my prime. I carried a pack that weighed 70-95 pounds. It varied day to day on how much group gear I would carry, and if our little guy, Luke, needed help. But there were several days where my dad would mention himself as too fat and too old. The last day was very similar to the day four years before. It was 12 miles total, part of it being up a mountain, then back down the other side. About 6-7 miles till the end, after the mountain thankfully, my dad really messed up his ankle. The pain was obviously extreme because I remembered my dad’s pride. And it was so hard for him to let us split up his gear between the rest of the crew. I hiked the last miles fighting it with my dad. Seeing him never give up, even through the intense pain. Through this whole situation I learned how so often people change. Many people see there dad as a super hero, who is invincible and never does anything wrong. I was one of those kids way back when. But then you see things how they really are. My dad is just another adult who takes care of me and is there for me. I’m so thankful for that trek, because it really did show me that sometimes people do change, and our perception of people change, but some things never change. My dad will always be a fighter, a warrior, who will never give up. It’s important to look for these characteristics; it shows us who that person really is. I respect and look up to my dad so much for being the man he is, and that trek reminded me of that.
In my English class we are reading the book Perks of Being a Wallflower. There is a part where the main character Charlie says he feels “Infinite” I was thinking what does that mean to me? I think I would have to say that feeling infinite is when you get to experience something new and exciting with someone who you are really close to. A time where there is no real pressure to perform or do something correctly, but something relaxed and where you can be yourself with that special person. It could be seeing the most amazing movie with someone and the end finishes so perfectly that you just stay sitting in your seat for a minute and look at that person and say, “Wow”. And that’s it. That’s all you have to say. Or getting to see a meteor shower with your dad and you feel like you two might be the only ones seeing it. And you put your arm on his shoulder and just take a moment and are in awe together. I think that is what feeling infinite is to me. Just spending those moments with someone truly close to you where you are just taken back for a moment. That’s infinite.
Love,
Justin
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