Pressing Forward
Saturday, January 30, 2010
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Posted by: WTDB Team
"...In the interim, I wrote an article for R.O.O.T saying how I felt about this whole thing and after a few days I got a comment from Tammie, the comment included a website link, so I checked it out. The site was something I needed to see, a motivational, inspirational as well as informational site about women who are, were, will be and want to become Marines. I read articles, backgrounds and saw photos of all these women who are Marines. The site, Where the difference begins, has an interesting quote that I truly loved for what it stands for, and means to all those women who are, were and will be Marines…
"They (Woman Marines) don’t have a nickname, and they don’t need one. They get their basic training in a Marine atmosphere, at a Marine Post. They inherit the traditions of the Marines. They are Marines” - Lt.Gen. Thomas Holcomb, USMC Commandant of the Marine Corps 1943
When I read it, I found it amazing that in 1943, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, stood up for all women in the Corps, when today, you hear a lot of men really disrespecting the female side of the Corps, even those who really shouldn’t…
There it was, all of a sudden a bell just rang in my ears and I realized what the heck just happened. I found myself remembering why I wanted to enlist in the Marine Corps to begin with and how, with all the work I’ve been doing to be able to do so, I forgot, what was I really going for. It was as if the universe, God, Buddha or whatever it was, was telling me, "hey, wake up there girly - you’re working hard yes, but you forgot your goal, you forgot your dream, so we’re delaying this process on purpose!!!”
I took a good look at everything that was going on around me, all the actions that I’ve taken to get me where I am today, and realized, that although I haven’t achieved being a Marine yet, the fact that I have worked and dedicated so much and so hard into doing so makes me a success in a way. I just needed to remember why I was doing it all, for what reason I was doing it all. As I went through the new site Tammie provided on R.O.O.T I realized I was not alone in my struggles, and smiled. It was refreshing to see, read and know that women out there are Marines and gave it their all to do so.
I worked myself so hard into being a Marine, that I mentally convinced myself that if being a Marine wasn’t going to happen for me, then I’d be nothing at all. I forgot that I am a writer, a woman, a daughter, a sister, a friend. I forgot that I am me and there’s nothing in this world that can change it, not what I achieve or don’t achieve. Nothing anyone can say or do can change who I am, it can change, what I think of them, how I feel about them.
I am pressing forward with my plans with the Marine Corps, where there’s a will, there’s a way, and I’ve always been the one to find one way or another to do something that I want to do."
LaShawn Pagan
Current WTDB member - 6th MCD/RS Ft. Lauderdale
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