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(innocence lost, cont.) Laura and Carlye, in an ideal world, would be finishing up their senior year in college, and like I am, hunting for a job. But they are essentially starting their college educations over. Forced to drop out of school upon deployment. Laura returned to UW-La Crosse, and Carlye, who started at UW-Milwaukee, is now at UW-Eau Claire. Both are concentrating on finishing school as soon as possible, in case they are called back to the Middle East. The National Guard requires six years of active duty and two of inactive, so for the moment Laura and Carlye will not have to return, but the chance is still there. “I’m basically a freshman again and I’m not going to graduate until I’m 25 or 26 [years old],” says Carlye, who also broke up with her boyfriend upon returning from Iraq. “It changed me a lot. It changed my outlook on things.” Laura says she is trying to forget everything about her time in Iraq, but she adds, quietly, “I won’t forget the people who said ‘Thank you, America!’ The majority were happy we were there and it was good to see change. [Iraqis] went from being afraid to seeing they can make a difference.” Because of her experience in Iraq, Laura wants to get a job helping people and learn about different cultures of the world, as well as spend time with family and friends. Carlye admits to mixed feelings. She regrets not signing up for regular active-duty service, “two to three years [in active duty] and I would’ve saved enough money for school and been done,” Carlye says. But, she adds, “The thing I tell people is, if I never joined the National Guard, I never would’ve been able to go to school. I have a better life path, I learned a lot about responsibility and I'm a stronger-minded person with more confidence.” I believe how tough it was for Laura and Carlye. Patrolling an Iraqi police station with a machine gun, while knowing many of their friends from school were enjoying the simple life of college, could not have been easy. Now the same goes for my brother. He knows his buddies are tearing around without a care in the world, while he wonders if and when he may go out to sea again. I consider myself to be a pretty well-rounded and down-to-earth guy. I’m a simple kid from the Wisconsin country, who has had his fair share of experiences. But thinking about my brother, Laura and Carlye and hearing their stories brings life into perspective. I am struck by how much life has to offer. I mean, I haven’t even been out of North America, for crying out loud. My brother and two friends have seen the world. “It made me grow up faster,” Laura says, looking back on the time she spent in Baghdad. “Most people are going crazy in college; there is so much to do in life. It makes you want to do more with your life. You look at what you have and what you’ve been given. You don’t take anything for granted.” You know, she may be right. The things Laura, Carlye and Brady have seen and done cannot compare to those I boast of. I’m graduating in May, excited to get going in life; yet I’m scared silly about what the future holds. It’s funny when you think about it, actually. Here I am dying to get into the real world, where my friends and brother have experienced reality in one of it’s harshest forms, and are dying to get back home, to normalcy. But I think they are a better equipped for almost anything. The lessons they learned during the last few years while serving our country will help them with any curveball life throws. Very soon, when I get started with the rest of my life, I hope I take as much from my experiences as Laura, Carlye and Brady took from theirs. If I don’t, I would not be respecting my friends or my brother for the sacrifices they’ve made for our country. Every member of the military deserves that sign of respect.
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