PostSecret and Me

My Sunday mornings always start with a visit to the PostSecret site. And from time to time, I read a submission that could have come from me. This is one of those times.

[caption id="attachment_1327" width="531" caption="The one thing that saved my life is keeping me from the one thing I want to do with it."][/caption]

I honestly believe that the Marine Corps saved my life. Before I joined, I was just going through the motions, checking days off of a mental calendar. A part of me knew that I was not long for this world and that, inevitably, I would take myself out of it. Then along came SSgt Rick Blevins and a chance to join the Corps. And finally, I found an opportunity to shine. And I did. But it was also the Marine Corps that prevented me from doing the one thing that I really wanted to do with my life, which was to find the man that I was meant to be with. I desperately wanted to find a partner and live my life as it was meant to be lived, with love and passion. But the Marine Corps was not the place for a gay man to love another man openly and honestly.

As we all know, ultimately, I did find what I was looking for. But it came nearly a decade after leaving the Corps. I wouldn't change my past, because I love who I am and the life I have. But my buttons are still pushed when I see a Post Secret like this one.