I’M a Unique Individual

Ronald Mouton Dr. Steven Dolgin ENG 101-111326 28 January 2013 â€Å"I’m a unique individual† I believe I’m unique because I was a Marine and Marines make up . 06% of the population in the United States of America. Being in the Marines changed me and the way I think, I went from undisciplined to disciplined, cowardly to courageous. I learned how to lead people, train people, and inspired people. I know what it’s like to go to war, and to not have a break from work for 8 months straight.I know what it’s like to work 16-20 hour days in 110 degrees in the summer and 0 degrees days in the winter. I’ve had 2,000 pounds of vehicle armor (belly pan) fall on my finger and didn’t break one. The time I spent in Afghanistan was an experience that is hard to explain. It was good, bad, fun, miserable, thrilling, and boring. Life in Afghanistan was work every day of the week, long hours with no incentives to work hard, but you worked hard anyways.Th e only time we didn’t work hard was when the sand storms hit because you could not see an arms length in front of you. It’s impossible to breath in the storm. The sand is everywhere and gets all over you. The weather depending on the time of year could be hot as hell or cold as a Michigan winter day. I grew up in an environment that was bad, but not as bad as it could have been. My father was abusive and a drunk and still is a drunk. I saw in him everything I never wanted to be and I set out to do that by finishing school and joining the military.I wanted the intangibles the Marines offered me and they gave to me, but it was not easy and it’s not for the weak willed. I fought through the despair that happens in boot camp. I never quit even after I broke my thumb on the first day of the tree day crucible event which I had to complete in order to become a Marine. I see myself as a warrior I have the training of a warrior but I dislike confrontation and shy away fr om it. I’ll do what I have to do in order defuse the situation, if my words don’t work my fist will.I also see myself as an intellectual. I enjoy using my mind to solve problems. I believe common sense is the most important intangible you can have; I’ve met book smart people that couldn’t think critically or independently. I do believe you can be unique and have many standard traits, for instance like you are born in standardized hospitals, you go to standardized schools, eat standardized food, and watch standardized TV. Even with all the standardized things around us today, we can still take our individual experiences and become unique.