I’m not much of a writer so bear with me if this isn’t perfect. lol Today was the first day of the semester and I’m currently studying human services. The class that I had went to today is called “Intro to Psychosocial Rehabilitation” Which, for those of you who don’t know what that is, it gives students a broad view of  the best clinical practices, social psychological considerations in working with individuals who have psychiatric disorders. Anyways, like most classes, we did an activity that involves each of us saying something about ourselves. One thing we had to mention specifically was the reason for taking this course. As I sat and listened to these people I heard many speak about how they were first semester students, some were coming back to further their education, and like many students, they were still a little undecided about their lives. But there was one that caught my attention, this guy began to speak and judging by the looks of him, he wasn’t to far from my age (I’m 20) maybe a few years older. Turns out this guy was an american Vet. who served in Iraq. Since he’s been back to the states he had suffered from PTSD (Post traumatic stress disorder). He continued to speak about the battle he’s had with alcohol and I couldn’t help but hear a bit of helplessness in his voice. I’ve heard stories like this before but because of the reaction from my classmates, something didn’t seem right. Without any hesitation the teacher then moved on and focused her attention to the next student while the rest of the class did as well. That moment something hit me. Wasn’t sure if i felt hurt or angry at the fact that some just brushed that off as nothing? I began to wonder if I had missed something? This guy had been fighting for our freedom while we slept soundly in our beds and comes home to a life like this? And it was like no one cared or have the slightest reaction. Had they not heard what this guy just said? That bothered me. I went through the day replaying that moment in my head and began to wonder,where is our respect for our soldiers anymore? I later recalled a memory of last years U.S History class. During a lecture my professor spoke about what some soldiers had faced in Iraq. At that time there just so happened to be a marine who had fought in Iraq. As the marine addressed himself to my professor I remember taking in such inspiration from my professor as he stopped his lecture and sincerely thanked this man for his services to this country. The moment itself displayed so much respect that i couldn’t help but feel proud to witness this. This marine went on to explain some of the things he had faced in Iraq. One case in which showers were limited and they weren’t always the cleanest (considering they were in a war, not to mention a place such as Iraq). My stomach turned and disbelief hit me as a man from the back row shout’s, “So that’s why it smells bad in here!” Some had even laughed! Unfortunately my professor didn’t Ketch the comment and had already continued his lecture. Without any smerks or defense the marine sits back in his chair and continues to focus on his notes.  I couldn’t believe what I had just heard. After a moment filled with such honor for this soldier to be completely crushed. Call me old fashion or patriotic but I feel that we, as Americans have lost that appreciation for our soldiers. It warms my heart when I see a yellow ribbon tied around someones tree in their front yard or a “Semper Fi” sticker on the back of an elderly man’s chevy. What hurts, is that lately, i have been noticing many hateful photographs and comments hating on our soldiers. Let’s face it whither you support this war or not your freedom is being fought for whither you like it or not. So i encourage those who have taken the time to read this to thank a veteran young or old. Because somewhere down the line…they fought for you! So to all those men and woman serving or have served, Thank You! Because some of us know that freedom Isn’t free.

All gave some & some gave all