How The War Affects Me

Although the war has been a major topic for quite some time, I have not followed it very closely particularly because I have no family or close friends presently involved in the war. Over spring break, however, my friends and I had a get together to catch up and I found out that my friend, Josh, will most likely be sent overseas sometime next October. I always knew there was a possibility of this happening since he voluntarily enlisted, but hearing him say that it will actually happen, and happen so soon, made it real. He will be the first person that I am close with to be deployed to Iraq and the possibilities of what could happen to him while he is there constantly run through my mind when I think about him- regardless of the fact that it is several months away. What concerns me most is how he will be when he returns from his deployment. A few weeks ago, my friend and I watched a special interview of soldiers who returned from overseas. They talked about their personal tramatic experiences and the horrific things they were exposed to day after day. None of them told a positive story from being over there, and many described scenes that they said will haunt them forever.

Knowing that my friend will soon be experiencing first hand the horrible things I have read and heard about on the news makes me worried and scared at times, but the fact that he is doing it makes me proud. I think his going to Iraq will encourage me to learn more about the situation rather that change the channel or skip over an article when I get to points about things I do not want to face or think about.