It took me nearly a year graduated from the class of 18-1 to really get back on my feet on a path that I felt right. It was hard along the way. Harder than the Academy was to really get to a point where I felt I was doing something right and making progress. I was so close to giving up and falling back into bad habits from before the academy. Things that would’ve ruined me again. And this time I wouldn’t have an academy to help me. I wouldn’t have another second chance. After being at one of my lowest point I had been at, I found a little perseverance that I had left over from the academy. Maybe it was the memory of the gravel under my boots as I marched and shouted cadence or maybe it was getting smoked because a suspicious amount of milk went missing from the cafeteria that reminded me to keep going no matter how hard it got. Keep your heads up and do not quit. This really is your best shot at a second chance. And to the cadre that might see this (especially the Scout cadre). I can comfortably say that the academy saved my life and is the reason why I am still alive and healthy. And the academy is only the academy because of the cadre and staff. Thank you all, for everything you did and are continuing to do.
…The academy saved my life….
