The Agenda for 2018...

Happy (almost) 2018, readership! I hope your 2017 has been fruitful, and I pray that our blessings continue to multiply over the next year!

Post-AIT graduation; on the bus back to the barracks, and freedom (sort of)

2017 has been one heck of a ride. With the completion of BCT and AIT in January, I'm now drilling with my unit back home in Illinois. I got my first full-time job, and I'm currently taking classes for an online certificate which I'm paying for out of pocket. It's not much as of now, but I'm glad I have some sort of foundation established. With a regular source of income, I'm able to provide some degree of financial assistance to my family back home, and also support my parish at St. John the Baptist.

I'm looking forward to what I've planned so far for 2018. As I stated earlier, I just booked my flight to the Philippines to visit family in January. It's the shortest that I'll be staying there (only one week), but I'll be sure to make the most of it! On the way back, I have a 15-hour layover in Seoul, South Korea, so I'm definitely planning on catching up with a couple of battle buddies stationed there as well. Two birds with one stone. ;)

Jackson Square, New Orleans, Louisiana

Halfway through February, I'll be flying into Pittsburgh to visit the Byzantine Catholic Seminary of Sts. Cyril and Methodius. Having recently transferred into the Melkite Greek Catholic Church (see this old post for context), I've been wanting to go further in my vocational discernment by seeing what it's like for our current seminarians (please pray for them, by the way!). I haven't made any solid decisions, but I'm excited for this adventure in particular!

Chicago Open Air 2017

I haven't received any decisions on my current application for graduate school, but I'm hoping that I'll get an answer sometime by spring. With help from my old professors and a few others, I've applied for a master's program in teaching history at UIC. As the current owner of a bachelor's in history, I've wanted to advance my education so I can be qualified to teach high school history. In addition, should I be accepted, I hope to contact the ROTC program at UIC to knock out my commission as well.

Luke Skopwalker outside of the 330th Homestead! (Miss you, buddy!)

This is currently my agenda for next year, but things may or may not change up. There's always that one episode in between that could prove to be a sudden plot twist. But I'm not too intimidated by that; I could use a good surprise or two this year. I definitely feel like 2017 was the "let's get down to business" phase for me, and I pray that continues into 2018. Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to give me a like on Facebook for blog updates! Have a blessed new year!

You End Some, You Continue Some, You Begin Some

Happy 2017! It's the beginning of a new year, and of course, new adventures!

I'm very happy to have celebrated Christmas and New Year's with family and friends back home in Chicago, but alas, my holiday leave has come to an end, and I must travel back to Fort Jackson to continue (and finish) AIT.

Highlights from my leave included, but were not limited to:

• Watching Rogue One, Assassin's Creed, and Moana
• Witnessing my friends break a coffee table during a rough round of spoons
• A Christmas party with my brothers and sisters in SFL

I am not sad that these have come to an end; I'm glad because they happened. That's the key to cherishing memories.

I am very excited to reunite with my battle buddies back at Fort Jackson. Since the beginning of November, I've gotten to learn so much from them, and they truly have helped me grow and be motivated to overcome each passing week. We've only a few weeks left of training left now, so I pray we all can finish this strong!

I want to sidestep a bit and give a shout-out to my battle buddies. Some of us are entering the Army as a Reservist or a National Guardsman and will be returning back home after AIT--with myself included among them. Others came in as full-time, active duty members, who will have little time to say goodbye to their families back home before reporting to their first duty station--a sacrifice which earns them my utmost respect. Regardless of which component we entered in as, I have respect for my fellow soldiers who made the choice to raise their hand and took the oath of enlistment, a small but profound action that will go a long way. Perhaps, in the years following our graduation from AIT, we will see each other again; in a military or civilian setting, I do not know, but I hope we can catch up again after a few years or so.

With the beginning of a new year, more blank pages emerge to be written in our biographies. What will become of us this time? I have many predictions and theories about what may happen to me, but the outcomes are obviously subject to change (plot twists do end up becoming the most interesting, if not key, moments, though).

Here's to the future, with a hit from the past:

2016: The Final Days

I suddenly realize that we're in December now. Things are starting to gradually fall into place as this year ends.

I spent the first half of my year studying to earn my bachelor's degree. It was stressful enough to fit all of that in three years. But now I completed that first step towards my future career. I have yet to apply for a graduate program, but I hope to attain that step soon.

I spent the second half training to become a soldier. It was a bombshell for everyone (myself included), yet I felt like this fit in well with what I strove to be. BCT pushed me beyond my perceived limits, and I found myself no longer in the mental purgatory that kept me stagnant for the past few years. I like to think that I'm finally moving with the plan, as I have discovered many things about myself that have lit the way to where I am now.

As I enter the final phase of my initial training in the Army, I look forward to the new adventures that await in the coming year. Being in the Reserve, I already have a game plan set for when I get back home in Chicago. Greater challenges wait for me in 2017; time to give them a taste of the new me!