Recently (as in the past few months) I've been thinking of joining the military. A while ago I considered Marines, but now I'm thinking National Guard, mostly because it centers more on protecting domestic interests than covert ops overseas. Of all the possible jobs in the Guard, I'm most interested in Military Police. Reason being that law enforcement and invesigation has always interested me, plus I have experience in dog training. Granted it won't be the same for training military dogs, but I have trained dogs before. I meet the height and weight requirements for being eligible, and I've talked all the people I know that a decision like this would really affect...except my parents, and that's why I'm here. I don't know how to bring this up to them at all. My parents are super strict and controlling, so I don't know how to even try to talk to them, and I know I have to if I go through with this. While there's the potential of getting deployed, there's probably a higher chance that I'll be a civilian more than active duty, plus the Guard may also help pay for my college tuition. I'm just not sure how my parents will a. react to this and b. react to me as a result. :/
Parents can sometimes be surprisingly supportive when you least expect it, even if they don't like their child's choices they do support them most of the time. The main issues I would ask first would be have you ever talked to your parents about this type of career? And if so, how did they react? And by super strict/controlling, does that mean they have a career plan for you?
Hmmm . . . well there are many methods in which you could approach this. The first thing you have to do is make sure this is really what you want (which it appears as though that is the case) and then comes the part in which you talk to your parents. There are some parents who would be proud to see there son/daughter in the military, then there are the ones who don't want them in any danger. I don't know which type of parents you have so I will try to walk you through (in my best opinion [emphasis on OPINION]) Type 1: Proud Parents ----- It will still take a bit of coaxing to get these type of parents into the idea of you joining the military, but you should only have to talk. Just try bringing up the subject with your parents and go from there. Type 2: Concerned Parents ----- It will take a lot of coaxing and assuring to get these type of parents into allowing you to join the military. You will want to be careful of how you break the idea to them and then go about the conversation. If you bring the idea up at the wrong time they may be swayed from the idea completely. So just pick a time in which your parents are (more or less) in a good mood and try it then. They may retaliate with punishment, or ignore the statement completely. You will just have to keep trying and prove to them you are responsible enough to make your own decisions. Type 3: (The parents that like to control every aspect of your life) ----- All I can say is hope this isn't the description of your parents because (unless they wanted you to join the military from the start) they won't want you to join the military. If this is the case, however, you will more than likely have to prepare yourself and join when you are of age (legal/18). That is the only advice I can give. This isn't an actual "I know from experience" thing, it's an "I am just looking at things logically" thing. So please don't take this to heart when you bring things up with your parents. In the end you will have to find your own way or it will never work. Hope this helped ~
Didn't I make a thread about something like this a few days ago? BAH! Anyway..... I'm going to put this very bluntly: If this is what you want, then you should'nt have to worry about what your parents will think. If you think this is a great opportunity for you, you should just tell them and get on with it. You're going to be 18 soon, meaning you have the right to be responsible for the decisions you make and how you see them through.
^^ This. If it's something you really want to do, something that you're passionate about then go for it.
Yeah, about a year ago I considered Marines, which they immediately said no to. Which I can understand, because I believe the Marines is significantly more dangerous and demanding than something like the National Guard. They did a while ago, but when they realized I was more of the artistic type they stopped pushing me to be an engineer. Yeah...mine are pretty much the third type. They've always been controlling and such, going as far as to monitor my MSN convos for a while. They've relented a bit more recently though. And I'm going to be 18 in a week, which is why I'm seriously considering this now. Thanks. :] Both of you are right, because I think I definitely want to enlist, but I have a feeling it's more of them not wanting to let go of their only daughter, be it to the real world or military. In any case, we had an orientation today about things to do in college, and National Guard was one of the things that came up. I spoke to the presenter afterwards and she gave me a form to fill out that requested more information about signing up for the Guard and a way to contact a local representative. I think I'm going to try talking to the rep first, asking them for any possible advice as to opening a discussing with my parents, and then see where it goes from there.
Good luck with that, but in my opinion, i say go with what you think is right. My mom was against my older brother going in the military and he went in anyway. Now he's a Crew Chief in the Air Force. At least he's not doing any fighting. But seriously, if this is what you really want, I say go for it, and let your parents figure out what to do after you're gone. If they're really the type that control every single aspect of your life, I'd say you're better off being in the military. Might want to give you a heads up if you go though, for the first few months of Basic Training, you're going to be crying for sweets and candy and stuff like that. My brother told us that some people ended up eating so much they puked. Military food does not sound all that good.
Go for it. From how I know you here, you're very strong and should be able to handle any criticism your parents have. I'm sure that if you assert your position your parents will have to let you go, even if they don't like your choice. Plus, you are/are going to soon be 18, so there's nothing they can legally do to stop you from picking your own career choice.
I'm sure your parents mean well in their controlling nature, they just want you to be safe and end up in a good job. You mentioned that they stopped pushing you to be an engineer, showing that they are capable of listening to and understanding what you want. I would definitely say to talk to the rep, and if you know anyone in the armed forces, by all means ask them how they brought it up to their parents. When/if you do eventually go to your parents, explain your reasoning, that the National Guard is not as dangerous, and hope for the best. That's all you really can do, but it's your time now to make decisions about yourself, not time for them to make decisions about you. I'm sure that, though it may take them time, they can see that this is what you want to do and learn to be proud of you for it.
