I have quite a few friends who are deployed or on Active Duty in the United States Military. It's crazy to think how many days go by that I don't think about them or pray to God for their safety. These men and women are defending our way of life. In general, its freedom. But for me its defending the right for me to pursue an education. And sleep in on days I just need extra sleep. Or go out and splurge on some shopping adventure. And picking up and road tripping across the country with my best friend. And that's just what I've thought about in the last few days. It's kind of sickening to me the life I live. Not because I make mistakes or because I go out and like to have a good time- but because I have failed to acknowledge and show gratitude to the people who have made this life for me possible.
A friend of mine reminded me the other day how seldom our troops receive mail. (As in real "Snail Mail") Not even anything meaningful, just something to remind them of home and our love and our general knowledge that we know and respect what they're doing. It kind of broke my heart. When I told him some of my friends were going to write he replied, "It's nice to know 'normal' people want to talk to us.. usually it's just little kids and older people." If that didn't hit you, read it again. Not only are these our troops. Not only have they given up the luxury of this life in America to fight a war with people who hate them. More personally, these people are OUR generation. Have we forgotten that we share that with them? If they were not voluntarily there, we would be in their place.
I'm speaking of our generation mostly because we are so easily bashed by the media, our teachers and other people who see how 'different' we are from when they were our age. And this is another example of how naive we are to what is going on in the world around us. This can change. From the many people I've come to know from all over the country, I know our generation is full of passion, respect and mostly love. I believe there is something we can do that will impact not only our lives or the lives of soldiers, but the lives of this country.
The idea...
What started out as a friend from high school emailing me a list of guys in his platoon that he felt would love to receive even a simple thank you in the mail from someone their own age, has turned into a list of many military personnel that are stationed overseas. (Mostly Iraq and Afghanistan) I'm still trying to acquire more names and addresses so if you're interested in contributing soldiers- please email them.
A few girls in my sorority mailed the first few letters but now with the list even larger, we need help. I'm hoping to get help from my own campus, but I think if word spreads- this can get much bigger and reach more soldiers than we've thought possible.
So, "Students for Soldiers," which I've named this little project is aimed at having college students write or mail a thank you or anything to our troops overseas. (Mostly those that fall within our same age range.) A lot of grade schools do this but why can't we? We have more flexibility and the ability to relate to them because of our age.
As for me, I love college. I love the freedom, the fun, the knowledge, the sports and I could go on and on. Think about what these men and women have given up. Not just for us- but they've left their families, their friends, their "college life" behind to protect our rights to that life. The least we can do is acknowledge that.
"I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him." Abraham Lincoln
If you're interested in helping by sending a message, please email me and I can get you a name and address to write to. And like I said, if you know anyone who is deployed I would welcome that information too so we can reach as many soldier's as possible.
USstudentsforsoldiers@gmail.com
Thank you to all the men and women who bravely serve our country whether at home or abroad. Thank you for being brave and fighting to defend the life we love. We will never forget how you serve with dedication and humility.
"There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends." John 15:13
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