Semper Fi | Double Post

I'm still trying to figure out this Blogger thangggg, and for some reason my posts are a day behind.  Seeing that I'm in the process of reorganizing my organizational priorities/skills, this is not okay with me.  Mondays are for Monday's post and Tuesdays are for Tuesday's post, and so on...  So I shall beat the system and DOUBLE POST!

HA!



For those that read last week's Fat Girl Slim, I haven't forgotten about my Marine "story".

I'll just jump right into it.

My senior year of high school (2001-2004), a good friend of mine invited me to join him in working out with the Marines.  Our intentions were to STRICTLY work out and tone up, NOT to enlist. haha  I mean, me? A Marine??  cheaaaa right.

You see, my senior year, I wasn't swimming competitively year round, but instead I was dancing.  Dancing is great exercise, but not as crucial on the body as swimming.  (I did gain THE most awesome calf muscles though!)  I had noticed that I did gain a little bit of weight, and I KNEW my endurance wasn't where it was 2 years before.

So we went.
I'm not gonna lie it was intimidating, to say the least. Here I am the ONLY girl working out with not only JUST guys, but MARINES. The workout kicked my butt, but by the time I left, I realized I was actually ALIVE, and that these workouts weren't nearly as severe as the workouts I endured while on the swim team.

::insert George Lopez's ego, "I GOT THIS!"::

I left feeling great!  I couldn't wait to go back.
So I did.  Weekend after weekend, I went and worked out with MARINES.
OH YEAHHHHH.
I'm not gonna lie, I walked with my head a little higher (and my muscles were def a little tighter).


At the time, financial aid and college, just seemed so BLAH to me.
I had NO idea what I wanted to go to school for, or what the heck I wanted to do with my life, so the Military seemed to be the best option.  After weeks of working out with the Marines, I figured, why not join?  Why not be the BEST of the BEST?  I'm sure I can hang...

So I enlisted.
I trained and trained and trained.
I ran 6 miles a day on top of doing their regular workouts.
I surpassed even the guys. While they were on the sidelines puking their guts out, I was hardly breaking a sweat.

Not to toot my own horn, but TOOT TOOT!
[[ATTN MEN, US WOMEN CAN DO ANYTHING YOU CAN DO! DON'T UNDERESTIMATE US!]]


Word got around, and I had the not only the Army recruiters, but the Air Force recruiters COMING INTO the Marine office to try and sway my decision and convince me their branch was the better lifestyle.  I considered, but again, I wanted to be "The best of the best" aside from Special Forces, of course.  Ultimately, my goal was to go into the FBI, and I knew having "USMC" on my resume, would def help.

There was only one problem.
I was 7lbs overweight.

Yes. Overweight.
5'3.
154lbs.
Kicking the boy's butts, and you're telling me I'm OVERWEIGHT????

My recruiters fought for me. So much that MEPS waved 3 of the 7lbs.  The weight requirements were already just about to be altered anyway, but thankfully, for me, they waved it early.

Time was a tickin', and my ship date was drawing near. SOMETHING had to be done in order for me to lose the weight.  Okay, well this is EASY AS PIE!  I lost 5+ lbs for prom, so this is a simple cinch!

Wrong.

Even after 6+ miles a day, working out with the Marines at night, AND getting a personal fitness instructor, and eating like a bird, I didn't lose a SINGLE pound.  I even went as far as to take laxatives.

After a month, I figured something wasn't right. I should have lost 10+ lbs by now.  WHY couldn't I lose 4 measly lbs?? Just 4!


My ship date had come, and gone, and choosing another date was something I had to think about...

I decided to take a small break and head to down to my Grandmother's for the holidays.
This was a decision that only God had planned.
This was the last time I saw her.
She passed away a couple of weeks after I returned back home. 

I can't even imagine...
If things would have gone MY way, I wouldn't have had the chance to tell my Grandmother, "goodbye" for the last time.  The Bible tells us that what the enemy used for bad, God uses for good.  Through her passing, I found God again.  I found that I needed to listen to HIM more often, and less of my own ideas, thoughts, and dreams.  He had a better life planned for me farrrrr greater than I had (and that's obvious, today).  I sat for a good few hours in bed, just praying... I wept.  I wanted Jesus in my life.  HE was the One missing, and I was the one that needed to be found.

A couple of weeks after my grandmother had passed, I walked into the recruiters office, and said, "I'm not going. I'm done. Thanks for your time, efforts, and much persistence, but this isn't for me."  They couldn't believe what they were hearing, and I didn't go down without a fight.  They threatened me saying that I had already "joined", and there was no backing out, when I KNEW for a fact, that was a lie (thanks to my bff's dad who was already a Marine).  I walked out of there in tears trusting that God had better plans for me, and that the past year of my life... training and obedience wasn't a waste of time.

It wasn't.
Through this experience I gained self confidence, loyalty, discipline, respect, strength, and most importantly, I gained Him.  I was on HIS path now.  Not my own.  This experience changed my life, and I am thankful for walking in it and through it.


With that being said, yesterday, my younger sister, Chelsey, enlisted in the United States Navy.
Although, times are tough right now with the war over seas, I pray NOT for her to NOT go, but I pray for God's WILL to be done in her life.  I pray that whatever path HE has paved for her, she will walk it in obedience and faith.

If I have learned anything these passed 6 months, it is to pray for not what we WANT or think we need, but pray according to HIS will.  That way, our prayers are automatically answered. When we pray otherwise, we soon find ourselves disappointed or let down by God. WHY ISN'T HE ANSWERING ME??  Truth is, He is.  Question is, are YOU listening? 




Blood, sweat, tears and HUGE LOVE.
XoXo
-Casey <3


ENTERING DOUBLE POST MODE:
A couple of pics I took of Aislynn.  =]
Enjoy!

F2.5

1/160

ISO: 200

F2.5

1/160

ISO: 200

Casey <3