Telling My Parents

[notquitenavy]

Hello,

 

I'm a senior in college and I'm seriously considering the navy (OCS) as a career option.  I've tried to hint at the topic of military service with my parents and they don't seem that into it (I don't think they see it the way I do, and they think its a waste of my education, I think).

 

Is there any advice about telling my parents that this is something that I want to pursue?  My parents have always supported me and my decisions and I'm sure they will with this too, I just don't want to let them down too hard.

 

 

Thanks to everyone for your comments.

 

-NotQuiteNavy

[BunkerQB]

Hey, you could have bowled me over with a feather when our son told us he was going to be on a sub. He talked about joining the Navy casually during his senior year in college. My husband and I were not exactly thrilled and we thought it was just a passing fancy. He graduated with a degree in EE from one of the Univ of Calif schools with honors. We thought he'll be like other EE grads - get a good job in hitech locally. Well, this Navy thing kept cropping up. Next thing we know he had gone down to San Diego and toured a sub, carrier and cruiser. Shortly thereafter, he was sent to Washington for a series of interviews. The last interview was with an admiral who gave him the thumbs up. Minutes later, they took him to the office next door, signed him up and swore him in. DONE DEAL. We had no input. My husband the lawyer complained about missing out on filibustering for a year or two. I was super furious. I wanted the drum roll, the ceremony, the hand shake, etc. We felt cheated. Anyway, it has all worked out very well. He lucked out. We lucked out. I have met the most amazing people on this site. Hubby's complaint now is that I spend too much time here.

[supertgrl]

The best thing to do is to approach your parents with as much information as possible.  The more they see that you made an actual informed decision about this, the more they will listen.  And the more you know, the more you can actually make a decision instead of just considering. 

#1 figure out what career choice(s) you are thinking about and talk with a recruiter

#2 make sure you know everything about everything, especially if your parents don't know anything about the military

#3 show them this website, they may find it to be helpful when dealing with your decision(s)