Alex Allshouse

Autobiographical Narrative

Ever since I was in 3rd grade, I knew what I wanted to do with my life. Along with being an astronaut, fireman, and professional football player, above all I wanted to be a soldier. Among my plans, college was never one of them. I hated school and to my parents’ dismay, I would never go to college. I couldn’t wait. I decided that I was going to sign up as soon as I could, which would be right after high school. Or so I thought. I had good reason.

On September 11, 2001, I got back to my parents restaurant after school. My parents didn’t leave until around five, so I was stuck there for a few hours. I walked in and prepared to sit and be bored. I entered the main dining area, a mix of large tables, with booths along the walls, like any typical sit-down restaurant. There were very few people there that day. Those who were there had startled, horrified expressions on their faces, and all were turned toward the

TVs by the bar. The sun was shining through the windows illuminating dust particles, giving the room a hazy, dream-like feel to it.

I asked my mother what was wrong, and she told me that terrorists had just flown planes into the World Trade Center. I just looked at her. I was about ten, I had no clue what a terrorist was, or what the World Trade Center was, or why I should care about any of it. Then my father stepped in and made it a little more clear for me.

“Son, some people don’t like how we live. They are jealous of you, and what you have.

So they do bad things. Some of these bad people flew airliners into two buildings, killing a bunch of people,” he said. That I understood just fine. I looked up at the TVs hanging by the bar, as if I didn’t believe what had been said. Sure enough, the monitors were displaying footage of a smoldering pile of what was once a building of people.

I still wasn’t too affected by it at first. I went to my usual booth next to the bar. Then I heard the number of casualties on the news. It was approximately 3,000. 3,000. I couldn’t believe that so many people had died in one incident. I was shocked. I thought of my family. What if it had been them in those buildings?

I ran to my father, and asked him what was going to be done, and how such things could be prevented. He said that the United States would most likely be sending in our troops. It was then that I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to be in the Army, and make sure my family was safe. But at ten years old, I didn’t quite grasp the concept that soldiers actually shot people.

As I grew up, I had several ideas about what I wanted to do with my life, as most kids do.

Through elementary school, I always said that I was going to be an astronaut. “Then,” I would add, “I’m going to be a Marine!” I had recently learned what a Marine was, and it sounded awesome. At first, my parents just thought I was a dumb kid full of imagination and watched too much G.I. Joe.

In middle school I realized how afraid of space I was, and how awesome football was. So

I decided I’d get really good and be go pro in the NFL. And then after, I’d go be a Marine.

However, I would always forget that I’d have to go to college to go pro. School wasn’t really my thing. I wasn’t a very good student. I never once even considered college.

“Why do you want to be a Marine? Because you can play Halo??” one of my good friends asked me one day. He said it so sarcastically I nearly hit him. It wasn’t the first time someone had mentioned video games as my reason of interest in the Marines. Though it would infuriate me, these constant insults gave me even more motivation to follow through with my plans.

High school rolled around, and my plans remained the same. Still, everyone seemed to think I would change my mind. After the homecoming dance my junior year, my friends and I went to Dinner Bell, a restaurant about ten minutes away. It was tradition to go there after homecoming events.

Dinner Bell is open 24 hours a day. It had pretty constant business, as truckers would often stop to rest and grab breakfast, which was what Dinner Bell served. Its interior has a nice, homey feeling, looking much like a 50’s dinner. That night it was full of high schoolers in dress clothes and homecoming dresses. The room was comfortably loud with laughter and conversation. It was great until my friend’s dad started asking us about our plans for college.

Pretty much everyone at our table said Graceland. Then he asked me.

“How ‘bout you, Alex? You’re going to play ball here at Graceland, right?” he asked me.

“Well, actually I’m still planning on enlisting,” I told him, with a slight hint of annoyance in my voice. He knew very well what I planned to do.

“Well. I’m sure you’ll change your mind,” his dad said. As if my decision was a bad one.

That ruined my mood for the night. I didn’t say much afterwards.

Senior year came, and still my decision was unwavering. College was not for me. It did change slightly, however. I had decided to go Army, and be a Ranger. After submitting my information, I got a call from the same recruiter asking me about my plans. I told him I was 99 percent sure it’s what I wanted, and set up a meeting with him. He came about a week later, and we met with my parents in the Blue Gold room at Graceland, where both my parents worked. It was also where my family and friends had hoped I would end up.

The Blue Gold room is a conference room/lounge in the athletic building. It’s where all the coaches go to get coffee and relax, and where soon-to-be college athletes would sign on, and take a picture for the paper. A display of various trophies won by Graceland’s teams through-out the years was embedded into the back wall. In the corner sat a coffee maker and mini-fridge. A large, leather upholstered couch was along the wall across from the door, and in the middle of the room was a large conference table.

My meeting was brief; he didn’t have to persuade me to enlist, I was dead-set on enlisting. I was so excited that my lifelong dream was becoming reality. The next day my friend

Max and I went to the Pizza shack for lunch. His grandma was there, and asked me about my plans. I told her I was enlisting.

“Oh no!” she said, “I’m going to pray that you change your mind, you could be killed!”

She was a sweetheart, but I was still slightly offended. That night I went to bed with the same mentality as before, not thinking that anything would change.

The next morning, I woke a little earlier than usual. I was a little cold, and very confused.

About what, I wasn’t sure, but everything just seemed off. I went downstairs to the living room, where the TV was on as usual, as my dad would watch the news every morning. However, my dad was in his office, which was not usual. On the news was a report regarding the conflict in

Afghanistan, something about how we were pulling out sometime soon. I stared at the screen, but wasn’t actually paying any attention to it. I was just spacing off, not thinking about anything. But I was still confused. Dazed, even. As if my mind had been reprogrammed, I thought to myself: “I’m going to play football at Graceland. Study chemistry.

Go to officer school in the Marine Corps after.”

This has puzzled me for the longest time. All of sudden, I completely changed my entire life plan. I went through my entire life not even considering college, yet now it seemed like the obvious choice. Two weeks after that morning, I signed with the Graceland football team.

College seemed to make more sense now, and seemed much more important. Essential, even.

Toward the end of my senior year, I finally understood. Max’s grandma had prayed for me. And it worked. I’ve always believed in God, but I never believed that talking to the air would benefit anyone in any way.

Whether or not it was some old lady praying for me, or just a coincidence, I understand that I have more potential than just enlistment. At first I thought that college was pointless for me, and I still kind of do. But now I realize how beneficial college is, both long term and short term. There have been many occasions where I lose confidence and consider leaving, but I just think back to that odd morning, and I remember to think about the bigger picture.