NJROTC

Although I grew up in a military family, I never saw myself going into a military career. Up until I was about fourteen years old, I planned on being a marine biologist in Hawaii. Sounds nice, right? Well, at the end of my eighth grade year I decided that I might as well join NJROTC, because all of my friends were doing it and it seemed okay. I have to say, looking back, I was quite naive. Joining NJROTC was the smartest and most valuable decision I have made to this day.
As a freshman, I was timid and had little to no confidence. When I went to my first drill practice, I felt like I was in my element. Everyone there wanted to be there, they all joined NJROTC because they wanted to. After attending many drill practices, and NJROTC events, I started to come out of my shell. Instead of staying quiet in class, I voiced my opinions more often and sometimes cracked a joke here and there. Then came our first drill competition, where I was the freshman drill squad’s squad leader. At the end of the day we won first place. This taste of victory showed me how a little self confidence can go a long way. Sophomore year went even better. My friend group expanded, as I met more people through NJROTC. Every drill practice became so much more enjoyable, because I found out that I was actually enjoying what I was doing, because the people around me were as well. I became so confident with myself, and more and more people started to look up to me and admire me for how much I had grown. At the end of my sophomore year, I went to Area Four Leadership Academy/Sail Training for two weeks, which was a life changing experience for me. I met cadets from all over my area, and spent every waking moment with the same 35 other cadets who shared the same pas...

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...irl into a confident young woman. About a month later, I was accepted to my top school, Fordham University. Then, to my surprise, I also received a full-ride NROTC scholarship, to Columbia University! This was beyond surreal to me, and came at the perfect time, right before my interview for Columbia University. All of these accomplishments came at once, and I was finally proud of myself.
Three years ago I would have never imagined my life to be where it is today. Looking back on my life, I cannot imagine it without NJROTC. NJROTC has pushed me further and further each day, turning my dreams into achievable goals, and those goals into reality. As of now, I am hoping to be accepted to Columbia University, but would also be extremely happy taking my full-ride AROTC Scholarship to Fordham University. Either way, I wouldn’t have had either of these choices without NJROTC.