Please give me advice/input!!

My son was in his final year of college when he called me to say he was going to enlist. It caught me off guard but I just told him as long as he finished is degree, I would support him. He fluctuated wildly in college, he is very smart but nothing really grabbed his interest so he never really applies himself. He signed his contract a week before he graduated and shipped out to GL last fall. He LOVES his Navy life and I am so happy he has found a focus and a purpose. The military is hard on families and I am sure it will be difficult for you and your Mom but if this is something you truly want, you should pursue it. Just be sure you look at all the available jobs and study for the ASVAB. Give your Mom a game plan for what you want to do in the future. At 19 you have so many years to find your niche. Good luck!

Hi Wayne...My youngest (18) is finishing boot camp THIS WEEK and I couldn't be more proud of him.  I miss him terribly but know he is doing his thing and I did mine.  If you haven't yet taken the ASVAB test, DO IT.  The recruiter can arrange for that to happen.  It is like an ACT only more encompassing.  That test will show what your strengths are and what type of job would suit you.  The NAVY will not put you in a job you won't be happy with.  They WANT their Sailors to be happy.  The other branches put you were they need you.  There in no commitment for you in taking that test.  It opens discussions on what would make a good fit for you.  When you have that conversation, then think about it more. 

Know that you will be homesick and your mom will miss you like crazy.  In the Navy, you will see the world, you will meet people that will become "brothers and sisters" for life, you will be given education for a job that will fit your likes/personality.  AND you will get paid for it.  You will become a strong, self-confident young man.  I would think and hope your mother will be very proud of you.  GOOD LUCK!

My son is graduating Friday from boot camp...He loved it!  The distance from our family was the hardest with no communication, but honestly the time has flown by...we are a busy family though so that helps.  My son is one of 7 and is just about in the middle...so we have done the college thing, and honestly it isn't for everyone.  My son I feel made a good decision for himself...he wanted to wait til he was 18 to sign so he knew it was his decision only (even though he has talked about doing this since he was a little guy). His senior year of high school he couldn't think of anything he rather do than enlist...to go to college would have only been to play soccer, because he wasn't focused on what he would want to do to beyond college to know what he wanted to go to college for.  

Yesterday, I got my phone call that he is now a SAILOR!  What more could a mother want than to see their child accomplish such a great thing!  If you feel that this is the right thing for you...than do it.  Your mother will miss you, just as all of us mothers do. But the accomplishments she will see you do will be worth every minute she doesn't get to hear your voice or every tear she sheds.

You will travel, make several new friends from all over the world, learn so much, be able to get all the schooling you would desire, and serve our country in what I feel is in the safest branch of the military. You will be self rewarded...and your mother will be so proud.  

I miss my son tremendously...but it is a good miss, cuz I feel so good about what path he chose to take on his own...that to me makes me feel as I did something right as a mother.

Maybe you should talk to some Sailors...I am sure my son would love to share his story and could answer any questions you might have.

Best wishes to you and your mother...Hope to check back on here and see you posted you signed up! It's a great thing!!

As a Mother it was very hard to hear my only son say he wanted to go Navy. I cried and cried and cried. However I stood by him because I knew he wanted this.  I knew deep down that college was not for him because the navy was in his heart.  He signed the summer before his senior of high school, so I thought I had a year to prepare. That wasn't the case. Boot camp was long (to me)  and I was so heartbroken without my boy but once he graduated it got so much easier.  The pride I feel compares to nothing else.  He is happy with his choice and has no regrets. He stands taller, walks straighter and is ready for life. My point is, if this is what you want, your mom will adjust and be so proud. Proud like nothing else. It will not be easy for you or her...but she will adjust and so will you. 

I know at this point in life, everything feels like you have to do it NOW- make career decisions, make schooling decisions, make military decisions. The real life truth is- you don't have to make these big decisions now, and many times it is better if you don't. Get a job for at least a year, and use that time to get information, get input from your family, make some great memories, and then start making some decisions. My best advice is not to make the decision right now- it probably won't be your best decision.