$80,000…

            If you had $80,000, what could you do with it? You could live in New York City for 114 months. You could be the proud owner of 20 1996 Honda Accords. You could fly round trip from Los Angeles to New York at least 228 times. You could have 533 months of groceries or own 4,000 Yankee hats. Or have your sink professionally unclogged 800 times (steak fat cannot go in the garbage disposal, for future reference). Or you could go to graduate school. $80,000 for two years of graduate tuition and a diploma with your name on it.

            $80,000 which I did not have. I did the math. Even with loans, scholarships, some help from dad, selling my soul to Citibank… I couldn't have afforded graduate school. Most people can't. A Bankrate study showed that 47% of families couldn't afford to send their child to college. And finances is the number one reason interested students choose not to pursue an advanced degree.

            So what does it mean to have been awarded a scholarship from the Army to pay my full tuition? It means I get to go to graduate school. It means I get to pursue my dream career. It means I get to keep my soul (sorry, Citibank).

            Having the Army pay my tuition is like having Santa Clause pay me to celebrate Christmas. I get paid to do what I love to do: go to school, get a degree, help soldiers.

            A full ride to USC obviously isn't free. But it might as well be. In exchange for the Army paying my tuition, I owe them eight years, four years active and four years IRR (reserve). It seems like a lot. That's almost 1/3 of my entire life to date. But how much is eight years really? I [half] jokingly explained to Mom that there was no better time to join the Army than at age 22 while I still maintain my adolescent sense of invincibility but also the simple truth that, at age 22, I have everything to gain. By age 28, when I go reserve, I can put United States Army on my resume (imagine how that will look to future employers). Better yet, I can open my own business with the clinical license I'll get while serving my first four. Or I can settle down with 2.5 kids, a husband, and a white picket fence. Or both. IRR means I get the best of both worlds: Army and civilian.

            So how much is eight years really?

            Eight years of doing what I love. Eight years of serving my country. Eight years of being part of something bigger than you or I. I think those of us on scholarship win the game: at the small price of eight years, we get paid to do what we love and have the privilege of being able to call ourselves soldiers in the best Army in the world (true statement: Wikipedia agrees).