Why I regret joining the M*litary

Before I start I want to say I am speaking on behalf of myself, and my experiences only. This is in no way meant to represent the US M*litary, only my experiences in it. While you all are reading this I am about to start my trip. I am driving 4.5 hours to work for the weekend. Once done with work, I will take the 4.5-hour drive back. That's 27 hours total of life I will never get back, all for a 199$ paycheck. I have to pay for my transportation. Gas wise it will cost around 110$ total. I AM PROFITING 89$ for 27 hours. That is 3.30$ an hour. I would quit on the spot if I wasn't legally obligated to do this work. I am a very unique case to be more hurt than helped by joining, or so I hope. And although i work with incredibly helpful and amazing individuals, the week before every drill session I am put in this extreme depressive episode where I find myself refusing to eat, sleep, or even engage in hobbies I love, think this is because I am reminded That I am forced to work for an organization that has disappointed me in the following ways:

- I did not sign up for all of this. I read the contract at meps and asked them to make sure the contract for reserves was 4 years total for everything (2 years Reserves and 2 IRR) not 8 years total (4 years Reserves and 4IRR). At the time I had trouble reading/understanding the contact. Instead of explaining it to me, they lied and said yes I would only be in for 4 years total including IRR. So I signed it, because why should I question Uncle Sam? Later when I had found out my contact wasn't what I was told it was, I attempted in contacting individuals to reduce my contract since I was lied to about it, only to be told that a recruiter lying about a contract at me isn't a breach of contract and there was nothing that they could do.

- They denied me my right to vote in Bootcamp. I joined during the 2020 election. Straight out of Highschool. I was a top student and after being denied landmarks of one's life like prom and a high school graduation ceremony due to Covid. I put a lot of symbolic importance on the first time I could vote. I asked at least 5 times a week, sometimes daily for an absentee ballot only to be told that I should have voted before I joined. I knew they were wrong since I had tried to vote before joining. It was too early before I joined. I got the balls as barely an E1 to ask a Cheif outside of my division in Bootcamp for help. The Chief informed me that there was still time to vote and after confronting multiple petty officers that had lied or ignored me and getting a bunch of girls in my division involved. They had finally provided an absentee ballot... the day after THE LAST DAY you could mail them in. I was furious. They also handed out these ballots the only time I wasn't in the room with everyone else. I would like to think it wasn't intentional, but even if it wasn't, it broke my heart. How sad is that? I joined an organization in which millions worked for and sacrificed their lives for...all to defend rights. Rights that we were denied for joining, whether that was an accident or not. It was a defining moment in my life.

-The tumor. I joined not meeting the standards. I was a terrible runner. I did not know how to swim and was above all, very antisocial. I managed to put my 1.5 miles run time from 18 minutes to 13 minutes within 2 months, I learned to swim in a week and was put in a leadership position, despite that being against my will. I did my best to be a good leader. Turns out, according to doctors, all the emotional and physical stress I endured had triggered a tumor in the Lower right Quadrant of my abdomen. Nothing runs in my family, and although it is very obvious that the boot camp caused this, A year later I am still fighting for them to pay to remove it while maintaining two jobs and the Patreon acct just in case they don't and the tumor turns cancerous. Man, I'm crying right now as I'm writing this, I just want to be okay. 

These are just a few of the issues I'm comfortable enough to share, maybe in the future ill share more but I'm so sorry I haven't been as active the past few days. This happens every month I just get so tired of life, I can barely even bring myself to cosplay which is hands down on of my favorite hobbies, but thankfully I am currently in the process of getting discharged due to a medical issue. It can take up to another 4 months at the most. I have posts scheduled for this weekend for you all and I will be on our discord server <3