Today, I am a high school senior fearing for my future, although I seem so calm and collected on the exterior. I am slightly ashamed of the D’s on my transcript that possibly may not get me into the schools I will apply to. Being realistic, it’s a waste of time and money when my grades don’t meet the A-G requirements that the California State Universities and Universities of California follow. Occasionally, the risk is worth the reward. But even if I do apply to these schools, my parents don’t have enough money to pay for my tuition.

The thought of joining the military came into my mind when I felt that I wanted to stop living off my parents. A friend of mine is currently serving in the United States Marine Corps, but that’s way too intense for me, especially with my size and frame. Plus, he complains about it all the time. A student teacher who substituted in my Chemistry class told the students that he was in the United States Air Force and how that was the “greatest” experience of his life. From my knowledge, I knew that the Air Force was the safest branch since most of them aren’t close to danger. I’m not that serious about joining, but I’m definitely interested.

I am now left with the two decisions most seniors face today: college or the military?

Edwin Ganas, senior at Monterey Trail High School

To help me answer this life changing question, I interviewed two high school seniors who are planning to join the military and the student teacher who substituted for my Chemistry class. First, I interviewed Edwin Ganas, a senior here at Monterey Trail High School. Edwin plans on joining the United States Navy after high school.

“It’s a family thing, so I want to carry on the family tradition,” he says.

I asked Edwin if the decision to join was unanimous for him due to family tradition. He replied, “College was on my mind, but I know that I’m not a school person. I chose the military because of the opportunities other careers can offer, such as traveling to places where you are needed and being part of something that’s bigger than yourself.”

Edwin has been preparing for the Navy by exercising vigorously, studying mechanics, and building mental toughness. He plans on making his military service into a career, so he can support his future children with the benefits he receives in the Navy.

Dean Hoang, senior at Sheldon High School

Next, I interviewed Dean Hoang, a senior at Sheldon High School. As of November 9, 2011, Dean is enlisted in the United States Marine Corps.

“I feel very proud of myself and relieved that I passed all of the medical and sensory tests with flying colors,” he says. He has been preparing to join the Marines for over 5 months of physical training. He decided to join because he felt like he stayed the same person in middle school who was “immature, weird, and treated everything like it was a joke”.

He explains, “What I want out of the Marines is to give me a challenge; to learn discipline, tradition, valor, and most importantly, a brotherhood among your fellow servicemen.” Initially, Dean’s parents didn’t want him to join the Marines and wanted him to become a pharmacist until his official enlistment.

“They thought I’d be vulnerable in the battlefield,” he says. After his service, Dean plans on settling down, having children, and just living life.

“Not a very hard thing to do.”

Mr. Ryan Carlo, student teacher at Monterey Trail High School

Finally, I interviewed Mr. Ryan Carlo, a veteran now student teacher at Monterey Trail. As a senior in high school, Mr. Carlo “wasn’t engaged with his classes”. Although he took the ACT and scored the second highest in his school, his GPA wasn’t enough to graduate. This brought the attention of the school administration.

“It was eye opening,” states Mr. Carlo. “My principal was practically yelling at me and my parents, who were also in the room, saying ‘What is keeping him from graduating?’”

After graduating high school with a GPA around 1, Mr. Carlo decided to join the military in hopes of making alterations to his life. Mr. Carlo, formerly Staff Sergeant Ryan Carlo, served as a K9 police officer for 6 years in the United States Air Force. He describes his experience in the Air Force as “absolutely positive all around”.

He explains, “Your military image reflects your self image. You get a sense of pride wearing that uniform knowing you represent a part of the United States. You’re doing something a lot of people can’t do.”

After serving both wars in the Middle East, Mr. Carlo attended California State University in Sacramento with help from the G.I. Bill giving him money for college. He earned a Master’s Degree in Biochemistry and is currently working on getting his teaching credentials. I asked Mr. Carlo his thoughts on why teenagers are joining the military instead of going to college.

“It could be a variety of reasons,” he replies. “They could have a close family member or friend who joined… they need a change in their life… or money for college.”

Mr. Carlo, formerly Staff Sergeant Ryan Carlo, with his narcotics detecting dog Sonja in 2003.

Because of his experience in both the military and college, I also asked him if he had advice for students deciding between those two options. “Life is not a race… Don’t figure out what you want to do with your life at 18, because what you want to do at 18 years old may not be what you want to do when you’re 45… Pursue the things you enjoy in life, and what you do sometimes is what you do all the time.”

After conducting all my interviews, I had some thinking to do. As far as I know, most high school seniors, including me, are stressing out a lot about their future. Our advisor at Voices from the Trail, the lovely Mrs. Fox, told me a story of how her nephew called her on a random day crying to her — which was odd to her because he wasn’t an emotional person, “It’s not fair that I have to make decisions about my life when I’m 18 years old.” I agreed wholeheartedly. I also take Mr. Carlo’s words into consideration. What I want to do now may not be the same when I’m at a much older age. My career choices have changed throughout high school from being a teacher to a photographer to a journalist. I can’t imagine how much my major in college is going to change. At this moment, I plan on earning a bachelor’s degree in Journalism at Sac State and possibly becoming a beat writer for the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team. I’ve set myself on that path for two years now and I intend on achieving that goal. Going into the Air Force is just a backup plan because I don’t want to be the biggest hypocrite in the world and attend a community college. I’m just going with the flow right now, and wherever life takes me is where I will go. So I guess I’m not stressing out… That much.

There are different types of high school seniors: the ones who don’t care about their future, the ones who will go straight into work — but the most common ones: the ones who want to go to college, and the ones who join the military. Which one will you be?

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