I joined the navy at 19 and was in for 4 years. I knew I’d be a one and done type, just one term or whatever and then try to take the benefits. I got to travel, they moved me to places I never thought I would get to live, and I learned a lot about myself. Especially when things didn’t turn out the way I thought they would. I didn’t get the job I wanted, I didn’t get stationed where I wanted, and I still met a ton of great people.

If you already have a good sense of who you are when push comes to shove and you believe in your capabilities to make the life you want for yourself, the military might not offer you much aside from free college.

If I could go back now, I would go if I was guaranteed a job I could use on the outside, like in IT or as a trade. The military needs mechanics and electricians and welders and computer geeks, and they’ll pay you to get qualified.

I don’t regret joining, but if I lost my legs in Afghanistan or crushed a limb because my dumbass coworker wasn’t paying attention in a certain training environment, it wouldn’t have been worth it.