Originally Posted by JoelNR

As an active duty Marine let me tell you something. DO NOT enlist for the money. DO NOT enlist for the uniform. And DO NOT enlist because you feel pressured by a recruiter. You know what, the military will be exactly what you make it out to be. If you go in with a chip on your shoulder it'll be a long *** enlistment, but if you go in with a lot of motivation and determination, and keep it well after boot (basic, for you Army types) you'll be locked on to do well and succeed. One thing I have to ask is why you want to go Guard and not active? I know it's hard knowing that you'll be away from your family and friends, especially your girlfriend, but trust me when you get to basic the only thing you'll hear from your DI is that your friends already forgot about you and your girl is with another guy. Sadly, although they do exaggerate a bit, it is true to some extent. Life will go on back home without you and your girl will forget about you. I'm not trying to discourage you or anything, but you know, once you hit basic you'll be bitten by the military bug and suddenly, what used to be top priority is now on the back burner and you realize you're capable of so much more, and the ties you had to home are only slowing you down. Just something to think about, you know.