OK kids, pull up a chair and get comfy; I’m about to provide a long-winded, contrary view to those who’ve posted previously.
If you know you want to join; if it’s a “calling” - - or if you despise the military, regardless of some particular rationale or whether your school teachers have told you it was the thing to do - - these two poles really leave nothing to discuss, do they?
But for the vast majority in between, here’s what I think......
Join.
Here’s one, possibly true, case study that may prove illuminating:
Once upon a time, there was a kid; for argument’s sake, let’s call him….oh…. “me.” This kid was in Grade 11, football season was winding down, about to turn 17. With my grades, there wasn’t a hope in hell of graduating. So I quit. Here’s what followed:
Me: “Hey folks, I quit school today.”
Dad: “ #*$#&% ( perhaps
#*$#&%!!! ). So what are you going to do?”
Me: “I dunno.”
Dad: “Get in the car.”
Our first stop was the Seafarers’ Union Hall. They were closed. Stop #2 was the CF recruiters. Three weeks later I was in Cornwallis.
Fast-forward several decades.
I now have:
- a not-too-shabby education,
- a degree of self-respect and self-discipline unimaginable to that 17-year old,
- seen most of Canada and learned that not everyone in Nfld/Quebec/BC has 3-eyes (jury’s still out on Toronto),
- seen some beautiful parts of the world that I never would have otherwise,
- seen some absolute crap holes that make me appreciate Canada all that much more,
- been eligible for a pension since age 37,
- had job security while changing trades/classifications while finding my niche,
….all while some of my high-school buddies are still occupying the same barstools back home - - some more so, ever since the local factory closed.
All this to say, if you don’t know what to do with your life, there are worse places to discover it than in the CF. It’s not for everyone. For those that try it out and don’t like it, the process may still broaden horizons (your teacher's anti-CF views
may have been mistaken) and instil some discipline - - not bad things. And who knows, you may just like it, and hang out for several decades.
Long-winded spiel ends. I return you now to your regularly-scheduled discussion thread