Making the Decision to Serve Your Country

I am currently a poolee for the United States Marine Corps, and I am scheduled to leave September 14th. This wasn't actually the first thing I looked to do with my life. I enlisted towards the end of February. I applied to college and was accepted. Some people thought I was insane. I was smart enough to handle college, but again it is not what I wanted to with the next four years of my life. I looked for something to do for my country, and a fast way to get my life started. So I contacted a recruiter I said no to six months ago, this was when I really had to think about what I was doing. On February 27th I took my first Oath of Enlistment into the Marine Corps Delayed Entry Program. It was pretty cool. Right now I am a little less than a month and a half away from my ship date, and I am excited. Needless to say, I am also pretty nervous. It isn't called the toughest training in the world for nothing. It will change me, and it won't be easy at all.
What is my point?
Again, this is my own blog. I can say what I feel on here. I am not saying that a Marine or fellow poolee will read this. This is how I feel. There is a strong wanderlust in my soul for all of the things that life will offer me. I'm just a boring, geeky guy from a small town in North Carolina. I do know that where I am going will help me make a difference on this world. I've been given some crap for enlisting and ignoring college. This is my life. I get to decide how I want to live it. I am not here to satisfy individuals with my actions. For any person thinking about joining and reading this, prepare yourself. I have been told that the mental part of boot camp is harder than the physical part. I may sound like the doctor, but eat healthy and PT everyday. Not just to build yourself up physically, but to build yourself mentally. I can only attest to a partial experience because I am only a poolee. When I come out on the other side, I will follow up on more of this issue.

Metal and Music in General

I assume that all people on this Earth make a connection with some sort of music. Your fancy for certain things is a part of the way you are wired. You prefer cheesecake over some Walmart, piece of crap chocolate cake. This is the way I picture everyone's music taste. People take a definite liking to their interests, but there are things they care for except not as much as the things they love. This is what separates interests from loves. Metal music is a love of mine. Someone can tell me to turn a song off, and it will pain me to turn it off. Why? It is because this form of music has helped me through so much. I am a thought driven kind of guy, and too much thinking can cause the old noggin a little stress. Metal has released a lot of that stress for me. This form of music has molded me as a person, and it is something I can no longer separate from sanely. With an age full of Spotify and Pandora, I don't mind the occasional "Party in The USA" or "Just Dance." My mind and soul needs to separate from what feels like the everyday music. When I get in my happy place, I don't want to think about what kind of day I've had. I instead want to let all of that go and focus on enjoying myself. The only way I want to have to think about my day is if I am angry. If my boss just degraded me in front of a bunch of my co-workers, I am going to want to punch the guy in the throat. Unfortunately, those kinds of things are frowned upon in our culture so I look to an alternative. This alternative is still frowned upon. The real secret to doing this though is to rock out on your own time. When "Walk With Me in Hell" from Lamb of God comes, it is ME time. You leave ME alone during my ME time. 

Music has saved this world in a big way. It allows a moment for a expression. I dig the artist who stays true to himself, and just does his thing. We have all learned that it is not healthy to bottle the stresses of this life up, and music has given us an outlet. Music inspires people to do amazing things. Wars have been won over the simple fact that men were given the courage from a pre-battle chant. This element of our nature as human beings can never be removed. It is why we are here. Let us not sell that kind of thing short. It is a right to have music, and to even hear it is a blessing.