18 Years

It was on this day.

I flew from Seattle to San Diego.

I was scared.

The night got no better.

There were real nightmares waiting for me.

I was not good enough.

I was not fast enough.

I could do nothing right.

They yelled at me for everything.

They took everything I brought.

Even my hair.

I got two hours of sleep. That seemed like 2 minutes.

It was my birthday.

Not from my mother's womb.

But the birth of a Marine.

It just took 3 months to prove it.

18 years.