As I waited for my flight to Atlanta, GA my hands shook and tears streamed down my face while I thought about all of life’s uncertainties. I was headed to Infantry Basic Training at Ft. Benning GA, the first test in a long and uncertain journey to earn the Green Beret. Only 18% of the soldiers who try out for the Special Forces make it from day one to graduation. In 2007, the prize for passing this grueling course was a trip to Iraq and/or Afghanistan.

I was plagued with a myriad of questions; “is this what you really want to do with your life? Do you think you can actually make it? Can you perform the duties of a Green Beret?” At 22 years old, I was faced with the toughest decision of my life. Do I take the hard road and get on the airplane to begin this un-certain odyssey, or do I walk out of the airport and leave myself to wonder what might have been? My mind and body told me to walk out, but my heart and gut told me to get on that airplane.

Almost two years to the day that I stepped foot in the airport, I graduated from the Special Forces Course and earned the Green Beret. I spent most of those two years being cold, wet, tired and hungry; however, I had taken the hard road and it was absolutely worth it.