At first it was great. Everything was new and exciting. Every time I went on leave, I couldn't wait to return to work after just a few days. Years passed and all the new and exciting things became old and boring. I started doing back-to-back deployments and started getting really burned out. When I went to my 20th high school reunion, I had the chance to see what life as a civilian could be like and that's what I wanted. I didn't want to move anymore when the army decided they needed me somewhere. I wanted to put down roots and I couldn't really do that when I was in the military. Being a soldier was a really difficult life. Ultimately, I hated doing the same thing day after day with no change in sight, I despised leaders who didn't take care of their subordinates, and most importantly, I could no longer lead my soldiers from the front. I will be the first to say that joining the military was the best thing that ever happened to me. I have grown so much as a person and the lessons I have learned are invaluable. Ultimately, I realized that the negative factors outweighed the benefits I could gain from continued service. It was time for me to