Who am I today?

UPDATE Here's an example of what I was talking about

“It was being idle and not doing anything,” Casey said, “I was going through a major loss in my life. I was losing an identification of self because for almost a decade I had identified with being a combat soldier.”

You can read more of what Casey had to say here.
Veteran's mission continues even after his return from combat

Who am I today?
by Chaplain Kathie

April 24, 2012
Two years ago I became a student at Valencia College. My finals were yesterday. I woke up today no longer a student. I asked myself "Who am I now?"

The Digital Media field is not something a woman in her 50's goes into normally. It was a lot easier than I thought fitting in with other students my daughter's age but trying to keep up with them was hard. After a while, I knew what the professors expected out of me and got close to several other students. Most days I was in the Digital Media lab when I wasn't in classes. Usually Tuesday mornings I'd check the emails, do some posts and head off to Valencia. Today I had nowhere to go.

For two years there was a normal routine, knowing who I'd see and what I would have to do but today it's all up for grabs and I'm sitting here feeling differently about my life. Sure, I will still do the rest of the things I did in my life, but a part of it is now over. I gave some hugs to some of the people I got close to, said goodbye to the professors after they did all they could to help me learn my trade and drove off campus for the last time.

When you think about life changing events in your own lives, it may be easier to have a better understanding of what it is like for the men and women coming out of the military.

They trained to learn what they had to, then did it. They knew who their commanders were and the members of their units became like family to them. One day they are wearing combat boots, dodging bullets and fearing an IED is hidden in the road they have to drive over. The next day they are waking up and wondering what comes next for them.

They have to rediscover who they are all over again, find where they belong, establish a new routine at the same time they have to adapt back to civilian life without the people they were with. Keep in mind each of them were ready to die for the others. All I had to do was be willing to help another student when I knew something they didn't and be ready to ask for help when I needed it. If this life change is that hard on me, how hard is it for them? We just expect them to do it. Could we? Could we do it easier with help and a community that really has stepped up? Every community across this country needs to step up with support groups for them.

I met a lot of veterans at Valencia. Most of them were in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. There were several National Guard students. It was very hard for them to adjust to that part of their lives. Few other students wanted to understand and even less wanted to get to know them since they were older than students entering college right out of high school. The friends I made at Valencia made all the difference in the world to me. We can make all the difference in the world for these veterans as well.