Re: Re: ridecamp-d Digest V00 #434

["Joan Ruprecht" <ruprecht@tidepool.com>]

Wow! You said a lot and I agree with you totally,  been there, done that,
and, I appreciate it!

Didn't happen to do it via the military, but did have those same
experiences, and can suggest a dozen ways to get there, and still come back
to appreciate with amazing vision, what you had all along and didn't realize
how great it is.

Joan
----- Original Message -----
From: <MBlanchrd@aol.com>
To: <ridecamp@endurance.net>
Sent: Saturday, March 18, 2000 2:35 PM
Subject: RC: Re: ridecamp-d Digest V00 #434


> In a message dated 03/18/2000 5:36:45 AM Pacific Standard Time,
> ridecamp-d-request@endurance.net writes:
>
> << today, I signed up for classes
>  for my senior year.  I really don't know what I want to do afterwards.
And
> I
>  realize that I have time to think about it, but I can't help feeling a
> little
>  lost.  >>
>
> Renee, welcome to the Real World. I don't know about the rest of the
> Ridecampers, but I can honestly say this:......when you find out what you
> want to do , let me know. I need a hint!
> Seriously.......some of us, like me, at the ripe old age of 45, STILL have
> not decided what we're going to do when we grow up. If we grow up. I may
be
> an adult, but I refuse to grow up.
>
> I can tell you what helped me A LOT. I joined the Army. I spent twenty one
> years in it, did a lot of different things, went all over the world, met
> great people, one of whom I am lucky enough to call my husband. I learned
a
> hundred different skills, a smattering of six languages, an appreciation
for
> cuisines other than American, and a sense of history. I developed traits,
> like self confidence, learning to speak in front of a huge crowd, learning
> how to set goals and achieve them, learning to depend on myself and
trusting
> my judgement.I learned the importance of three words: Duty, Honor,
> Country...and how the three affect everything I do in my life. I didn't
get
> to do a lot of horse stuff until I retired, but I am doing it now, and can
> afford to because of my pension and my job.
>
> I'm not saying you should join the military to make a career out of it.
> That's not for everybody, though it was for me...but try a three year
hitch
> after you get out of high school. It will give you some money for college,
if
> that's what you want, it will get you away from home, allow you to learn
what
> life is like in the real world without expecting you to pay for it right
off
> the bat, send you to different places in the world, etc, etc. You'll learn
a
> trade or a skill, meet a lot of people, laugh yourself silly, work hard,
work
> long. You will accomplish things that you never would have dreamed of
being
> able to do.
> It will give you breathing room. It will allow you to immediately begin
doing
> something honorable (serving our country) and something worthwhile, while
you
> sort out in your head who you are and what you are meant to do in this
life.
>
> For me, I learned that horses are not my only passion. I also learned
that,
> to me,  banding birds is almost as important as riding a horse, that I
like
> to cook and love to garden, that seeing a foreign country from the
> inside...as a resident, not as a one week visitor..is an incredible
> experience.
> And.....you will find pferdefruendes wherever you go. That's German for
Horse
> Folk.It's an incredible feeling to be aboard an enormous Westphalian
gelding
> and be riding in what used to be known as "the Black Forest" in Bavaria.
Or
> sitting atop a fiesty Welsh cob and riding amongst oak trees as wide as
your
> house in the hills of England. People speak horse wherever you go.
>
> Finally...(and it amazes me, but I am sure to recieve flames for this...)
you
> will learn what an enormous blessing from God it is that you are an
American.
> It may sound scmaltzy, and, as I said, there's a few people out there who
> will privately flame me for saying this but..... America is the greatest
> country on earth.
> Try it, Renee, and if you have more questions, let me know.
> Michelle
> MBlanchrd@aol.com
> Oly, WA
>
>
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