Alright so my parents are education orienated (sp). They made me take advanced classes through high school that I would pull a C+ or B- in, I was always a year or sometimes even 2 years ahead of everybody class wise. Im not the smartest guy around though, and I cant even imagine another 4 years of school after high school.
Ive talked to my counselar at school (ex-Marine), an Army Recruiter, and a Marine Recruiter. I WANT to enlist in the Marines and get an associates degree in Criminal Justice (I already have 12 of the 60 credits I need) while Im enlisted, but have no idea how to break it to my parents.
Im in good shape and can easily do the IST at the recruiting office and have good ASVAB scores, I want to enlist as Machine Gunner. Im sure you know the kind of parents Im talking about; all pro-college and my mom is totally anti-me going to the Military but my dad always supported ROTC or the Academies. But I WANT to enlist and get an associates degree from there, REALISICALLY,
2007-01-20 07:30:31 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Military
how do I tell my parents?
2007-01-20 07:31:18 · update #1
"Thank you for your concern regarding college. But I want to enlist in the Marines. I can have a job while taking classes at the same time. It's a win-win deal. Plus I get to serve my country and do what I want to do. I hope you support me as I enlist."
2007-01-20 07:54:05 · answer #1 · answered by shishka 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
1) The truth is always better than anything else.
2) I must admit (Being a former marine myself) that if you are enlisting to get a degree of any kind, you will probably be very disappointed. I had all intentions of completing some schooling while I was in, but found that deployment and "training" schedules hampered that idea ALOT!
3) My suggestion (Please take it as that only) is that if you want to enter the Marines, Get a degree first then become an officer. The options as an enlisted person are limited, and If you are going for the postion as a Machine Gunner, you might want to do some of your homework to insure that is what you want.
4) I'm not trying to crimp your plans, If that is what you want to do, then set your sights, and DO IT! I would not have traded my Marine experience for all the money in most banks, but If I could go back in time, I would have finished my education first.
Good Luck in whatever you decide to do...
2007-01-20 18:21:08 · answer #2 · answered by eldertrouble 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Take control of YOUR life and do as you please. Tell them what you are doing and ask for their support. If they get mad, yell, scream, whatever, let them, my mom did too. They may not say anything and hope you'll forget about it like my dad did. In the end, once they realize that you are serious, they will have no choice but to accept it. They can either support you or not. If you are worried about what your parents think so much, maybe you aren't ready to be a Marine yet. If you still decide that you want to join, make sure you research everything before signing up. I have some really good friends who are recruiters, and they are good guys, however, they have a mission to make and a job to do, so be careful if they try to tell you something that sounds too good to be true. It probably is. More power to you and if you are serious, we'd love to have you.
2007-01-20 15:54:20 · answer #3 · answered by Marine08 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, dad doesn't seem to be a big problem, but mom will tear the poor recruiters head off, if you bring him home. Mom's are like that, they don't want anything to happen to their babies, and you will always be her baby! Fact of life, Jack!
If you have the stones to join the Corp, you better muster up the stones to tell your parents. I suggest you try it out on dad, first. He might even have a suggestion on how to approach mom.
Don't stop at an associates degree, go for your under graduate. Hell, there may be some on line programs available which would make it even easier to go the whole nine yards! Semper Fidelis!
2007-01-20 20:32:35 · answer #4 · answered by briang731/ bvincent 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Here is my advice to you, listen to it or you will regret it. If you want to join the Marines so bad then do it after you get your degree. I know what the recruiters are telling you because I am one they say enlist active duty and they will pay for you to get for education. The only problem is you'll never get a chance to take any classes. There is a war going on my friend, think. The recruiters are telling all this because its there job and if they dont do it well then they will be taking your place in Iraq. Also they want you to enlist because they themselves arent officers and dont get any credit for signing up someone to be one. REALISTICALLY go to school for the year and a half get your degree and then make your decision. All recruiters will say anything to get you to sign up hopefully you will take my advice now instead of going of to Boot Camp and wishing you did.
Best of luck to you. If you want to talk more about this send me an email.
2007-01-20 16:10:27 · answer #5 · answered by saunders_md 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
"Mom, Dad, I want to join the Marines so I can learn a trade and even further my education. The military will help pay for my education. I don't think I'm ready to go to college full time but I can take courses while I'm on active duty and when I get out, I can use those credits toward a degree. I hope you'll support my decision as an adult. I love you both and hope you will want me to pursue my plans."
2007-01-20 15:36:54 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
As a child of parents that never agreed with anything I have done with my life they always learned to accept me for who I was and always supported me after I made my decisions. As a parent of a child who is now ready to break out on his own I would hope that he would just be mature about telling me and allow me the time it takes me to process my feelings on the sitution. My sister is in the military and I can understand why your parents may not want you to join.
Really, I am sure that their thoughts (your mother's anyway) are not much different than basic fear that her boy may not come home from the first tour of duty that you go on. As a mother I can understand that.
You just need to tell them that this is what you want and you hope for their support even if they cannot agree with you. Explain to them that your education will not suffer as you can obtain your credits while enlisted. If you are not ready to commit to another 4 years of school right now, you are better off to take some time to do what you would like to do. This comes from experience as I went to college right after and am now still paying for a loan for a degree which I never finished.
Anger may be their first response, but in time they will adapt to what you have chose and love you for the honor and courage which it takes to put yourself in this position. Good luck in your endevors I am sure they will come around.
2007-01-20 15:50:50 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Get your degree first and then join the marines. You wont have time to get a degree if you sign up now. You can do the ROTC program while you are in college.
2007-01-20 19:22:28 · answer #8 · answered by Gaily 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am 17 and i am joining tha Army and i just came out and told my parents they fifured i would be the kid that went to college and got a great education but when i told them about my choice in the Army they were very proud of me and they support me all the way dont worry about it!
2007-01-20 16:43:57 · answer #9 · answered by Bubble_teenie 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋