Mission, School, or Military?...


lizinginholland
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I'm 20 -- 21 in may, living in Europe at the moment, i'm American I have a couple of options..

I've prayed and i felt it's my choice, but i have no idea what i want to do.. i've made lists of pro's and cons but i still can't figure it out! I'm able to act on any decision after April 1st, ( my work contract) i've been working as a nanny for the past 2 years, here are my choices:

--Go back to Utah and Study English or History at CEU ( need the independant experience, college experience.. and school experience, i have been out of school for so long.. i never had a high school experience because we moved to Europe.. i know this is all worldly but yeah.. anyway besides that: i love learning which is why i have college on my list as well.)

--Serve a Mission (has been on my mind for a couple years..) also in my PB it emphazies that it is not manditory that i serve..

--Join the Air Force ( always have had this as a goal, come from a family who was in the AF for generations, my brother is in the U.S. military as well.. (navy))

maybe you all could add some pro's or cons to my lists .. or give me your advice, your thoughts, etc. it would mean A LOT!!!

much love,

--Elisabeth

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First off, Way to choose to the Air Force. Best of the American Services. (Except maybe Coast Guard, they have it pretty good too)

However as a USAF vet myself, married to a career Airman ( Air women:D) i would recommend college first.

Why? because it is the "biggest risk." At 21 years old you can go to school, do great, do something as a civilian. Go to school, do great, apply for OTS. Go to school, find out it's not for you, leave and join the service.

You do a 4 or 6 year hitch first, now your 25 or 27, maybe married (guys will be throwing themselves at you more then at BYU;)) have a kid or 2. It will be much harder to give up the "bird in the hand" for 2 in the bush.

Even without family ties i have seen people who made careers out of the service not because they wanted to, but because giving up the certainty for the uncertainty of civilian life was too big a risk.

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IMHO, it seems the most logical progression is mission, then service, then college. Although if you went mission, college, then service i believe you could serve as an officer since you'd have a degree. I may be wrong about that but I was told that by a career soldier serving in the armed forces.

However, the thing about all three of those choices is that they require that you be committed to the choice you make. If you aren't committed to attending College, you'll lose interest when it gets hard and drop out. If you aren't committed to being in the service, you'll hate it and it will seem like a jail sentence. If you aren't committed to serving a mission, you won't be happy on your mission and you won't be a benefit to those you serve.

My advice is to pray for guidance. Ask your HF where you need to be and you'll get an answer.

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All of the above in the following order:

1) Get at least 2 years of college (associates degree)

2.) Serve a mission

3.) Apply for the USAF.

4.) Go back to college for an advanced degree - the USAF should be able to help you there - they offer certain programs where they pay you to go to college. I know in the Navy they pay you a salary plus pay your tuition for you to get a degree in nuclear physics.

With or without a husband you can still do all 4 steps above.

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My guess is that living in Europe for the moment, you are not strapped for cash.

My thoughts are to go to BYU, marry a returned missionary, have kids, raise one of them to join the Air Force when he gets older and when you retire, go on a mission with your husband.

Actually any one you choose first will be correct. Some of the most practical students I ever ran into first went the military route, and they were the better for having done so.

Don't fret over this decision because there are pluses any way you choose. Being educated and entering the military (especially if you go into nursing - English or history not as much) will help the Air Force. Maybe there you will snag a returned missionary Naval Aviator.

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The life decisions we make in life are layered with hope and evolution. Yes you did read right evolution. when we make a life decision we have hope in the outcome...but the journey will change us and the process change our future life decisions. Deciding to go on a mission may change our perspective so much that we may not want things like the Air Force or the specific path in school anymore. The good thing about a mission is the spiritual growth is going to improve you vision and make you future decisions clearer.

Most opportunities in life have a lot to do with timing. I have served a mission. I have nearly 20 years in the Army and I have a Masters degree. The only real timing choice you have is in a mission. After a while that window will close.

The WILD CARD that you haven't mentioned is Love and Marriage and Children. That's an opportunity that will alter all your plans and your timing.

Perhaps your greatest decision is not so much what you will do with your time, but how you will spend you time. What kind of world do you want live in. Do you want to surround yourself with a committed profession right now--because the AF is truly a way of life that leaves you with little control. A mission is going to be very exciting and challenging and rewarding...but it too has sacrifices that will be hard. The schooling is perhaps the most familiar and yet it affords you with the greatest amount of social freedom and is this opportunity may also fad away depending on how your WILD CARD comes into play.

Guys might order these as MISSION, SCHOOL, AF or MISSION, AF (TUITION ASST), SCHOOL

If I were you I would serve a mission. The seeds sown in you are there and you will now be harm but only richly blessed for your service. This will last for more than just this earthly life.

In all your choices remember you aren't just deciding what to do, but you are also deciding what to discover. Those lands we chose to discover will help us chart our souls and map our hearts and light our paths in life. Lose yourself in all you do, love with all your heart, and enjoy those to whom the Lord has bless you to be in your life, but at the end of the day rest with a spirit of thanksgiving and service.

I have found ways to serve the Lord in School, the Military, and on a Mission, but I discovered who I am on a Mission.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I served a mission, college for a couple years, then the Air Force (for 6 years), and now I'm back in college (it's much harder at 32 than it was at 21).

I would say, if you're really not sure, you can always go to school for a year and do ROTC, that's the best way to enter the military too. If you join the military first, you're stuck for the next 4-6 years, even if you want to get a commission it's not guaranteed that they'll let you do that.

If you go do ROTC you can work toward the military goal of becoming and Air Force officer, you'll be working towards a college degree, and you'll still have the freedom to break away, or change your mind, at any time to go on a mission or get married, or dump college for military or military for college.

In the least, it gives you some extra time to get an answer from Heavenly Father because this is an important choice and I'm sure he's got some advice for you, so don't make a choice that will be permanent (military) until you get an answer. I loved the military, but I don't think I would have survived it (spiritually, emotionally, mentally or physically) unless I knew for sure that that's where I was supposed to be during that time in my life.

This is my first post on here, but I felt like it might be good advice for someone making a decision similar to the ones I made about 10 years ago.

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