Personally I thought about the concept of joining the armed forces off and on with frequency most of my adult life. I am 32 now, so at least 12-14 years. Growing up I lived in Barrie Ontario, happens to be very close to Base Borden. My parents had friends who were in the forces that would visit quite often. This allowed for a small degree of admiration and early awareness of due respect for persons in uniform. However, as I became an adult I was a little more concerned with short term goals and instant reward. I pursued objectives that demanded the least investment gave an easy degree of high return. This lead to a career in long haul truck driving. While there have been many positive experiences and opportunities like being a business owner with this chosen path. There have also been a significant amount of personal disappointments. Not the least of which is the awareness that life can not be summed up as a success simply because you chose to bench your health and wellbeing for the sake of a paycheck. So in all, this is a very wordy response to your simple question. Perhaps I am reading a little more into it. Perhaps I am just justifying my own course of action and using your question as an excuse to reaffirm how glad I am to have made the choice at this point in my life. Either way my overall intent is simply to share the inclination I have. That is, regardless of the point in your life you come to the conclusion, that serving your country is a commitment your ready to make. It is essential that you be as educated as best you can and prepared as mentally and physically as possible. At the same time understanding that your joining a team that at its very core represents the values and pride of a nation, and your role with in that team is to exemplify these principals. The end result is that it doesn't so much matter how you got to your conclusion or the amount of time spent in deliberation, but that you are committed and ready for the consequences of the choice made.