Marcus

Sometimes life is like falling down a mountain side with a 50 lb pack- or 22.6 kg for all the non-pound, kilometer understanding people out there- but sometimes life is like finding the perfect rock to sit atop a mountain looking at all the peaks and creeks. Girls, boys, aliens, I am here to talk about a childhood friend that I had the pleasure of reconnecting with today. I am talking about real memories from childhood. No, actually I am talking about Marcus! He is gearing up to make moves in his life. He’s looking for challenges, and propelling his life in a positive direction. Perhaps you may have noticed, Marcus prefers he/him. I am glad to have seen him! It was odd reconnecting with someone I was really close with as a young child. We would play in what we called The Jungle. It was a bunch of really old rhododendron bushes, that were tall and flexible, that lived between our houses. We built a pool out of the sandbox in my backyard. I mean, those are the best kind of memories to hold on to. Being a bunch of babies in the world. Don’t hang on too tight, though, because I am bringing it back to the future.

I don’t personally enjoy looking into people's lives via social media because it is a rabbithole. I prefer to subdue my curiosity and take time to speak with people, but I still want to know everything. Unfortunately, I have not learned how to bend time to my will and make fun conversations last forever, so I started with now. What has Marcus been going through that pushed him to take bigger chances with his success? “Nothing is really going on. I am bored, and I feel like wasted potential. I think feelings like that make me want to get out and do stuff, you know what I mean? Like whenever I feel like nothing is going on, and I am getting restless, I am like, alright I have got to go do something. Even if it’s getting in to trouble, just feeling like that makes me want to do something.” I struggle with this feeling daily. It is challenging to take a step back and look at healthy choices rather than chasing fun and momentary happiness with unregimented wild child decisions that have you falling down mountain sides. Ultimately, Marcus is choosing to put his best effort forward. Where is he stepping? “Air Force Special Warfare Combat Control.” That is so cool! Marcus is in Canada, but is enlisting for the American Air Force. I was looking into the military pretty seriously for a while, but was unable to enlist. The military is a wonderful opportunity for some people. There are positions where you don’t have to see combat, or get close to it in order to start your career. My first interest was the Air Force, but I noticed I had to have a bachelors, or be below the age of 23 in order to enroll, so how is Marcus doing it? “You hear about the Air Force and you think pilots, and any kind of pilot position you do need a bachelor's degree beforehand, but in my particular career field I could go in and enlist without.” Okay, so I guess there are ways around a bachelors before entering the Air Force that I didn’t qualify for, due to tattoos and things of my nature.

Marcus is Canadian, but he is joining the American military. How come? “The Canadian military is severely underfunded, they don’t have a lot of resources for veterans, or reserves.” This doesn’t necessarily mean that the American military is correctly funded, or that the funds being channeled to the military are being used to support veterans and active service members as well as they need to, but it does mean that there are more opportunities for Marcus there. I was considering the military for similar reasons to Marcus. We, like so many, would like to continue our education, and one of the ways to do that is through the military. Maybe America could try investing in continued education, instead of the recruitment of soldiers, for a healthier society. All the world's problems aside, Marcus is focused on pursuing a better life through the trials of the American military. Honestly bootcamp looks like a whole lot of type 2 fun to me, so I can see why it appeals to him. “It’s always, just, been an interest of mine. I went back and forth for a little while, but it’s like I am getting old, so I am going to do it, or regret never doing it- going through hell to further myself, or wondering what could have been.” I like to think I live without regrets, but sometimes I get into a future regret feeling, where my mind collapses around thoughts of missed opportunities playing on the projector of my mind in reverse. Sounds like I am not alone in this. What Marcus is doing to prevent this hypothetical life of regret, is getting in shape. “All of the other stuff doesn’t really matter, I can do this if I am in shape. Like, I want to maximize my chances of being successful, and everything else can be worked out.” I would just like to mention here that being buff is fabulous. The world becomes so much more interesting to me when I can move my body with disciplined intentions. Get buff 2021.

To the people sitting on their computer wondering why in fabulous hell would he join the American military, “The GI Bill, afterwards. Or if there is enough time, like I don’t really know... I don’t really know what it's like. If there is opportunity and time to pursue a degree, specifically in psychology, while in service, I’ll do that. If not, then the GI Bill afterwards for psychology.” Oh! I did not expect that to be the reason, honestly. “What I am really interested in is eventually opening my own practice. That would be great, that would be really cool. A lot of work, but ideal.” So why does Marcus want to be a professional psychologist? “I am interested in people. I think people and their struggles are worth listening to and it seems like people are willing to, for the most part, share personal matters with me. It’s not always easy to talk about personal struggles. So, the fact that some people are willing to be honest with me about things, maybe is a way, or reason to help people.” Is it raining future therapists up in this blog or what? It’s really admirable that someone would take this direction in their life, but additionally spending the time and effort going through the military to achieve this goal is even more wow. Marcus is not falling down that mountain side, he is marching straight to the top. What stirred his interest in pursuing this path? “I went to this guy way back. This therapist was, I think, doing his doctorate at the time. He was a super solid dude, like really dope. Like I was really helped, and I told myself, like I didn’t want to go do this shit, that it was dumb, and it was just stupid. You know what I mean? Like, I don’t want to go talk about my feelings!” Yes, I, like all girls, just want to have fun. “It ended up not really being like that, and he was a really intelligent dude.” It is nice when you find therapists that have brains. Thank goodness they do exist. “He didn’t really talk about much of what he did because that wasn’t really why I was there, but what I gathered, it seemed like he was involved in cool things as far as the types of people he was helping or talking to.” I definitely have felt inspired by people who have achieved things, and remain down to venus as they elevate the world around them. I asked Marcus if he remembered my oldest sister, supposedly her name means dance party and the rumors don’t lie. If she could do a knowledge death drop, she would. She is who I look to when I feel like I need some super biased and sisterly perspective, as well as some peer reviewed facts all day, all night kind of perspective.

Okay, so... boys, you don’t have periods. I know you would love to bring a bloodbath to a toilet near you on a regular basis, but you just don’t get that privilege. So, what do boys need to do for themselves? “Eat properly with what is good for your body, and everyone should be.... I don’t know, making time for oneself. For, like, cool down periods, or I don’t know. Just like making time for yourself.” I definitely put Marcus on the spot. This particular question hasn’t been formulated for men yet, but I will get there. I asked how, care? Grooming? It wasn’t graceful, but I think Marcus has some solid advice to anyone reading, in case you needed to hear that. I need to hear that. I need a hand with that honestly. It's challenging to do basic self care rituals when I get busy and I go a little too fast.

Thank you, Marcus, for doing an interview with me, and allowing me to write about the experience! I hope you make the most of bootcamp!

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