¶ … Future Goals My life up to this point has been a tumultuous ride fueled by hard work, dedication and determination. A strong love for my country and the furthering of our nation's prosperity instigated my enrollment in the United States armed forces. The insight I gained during my time in the military has reshaped my outlook on life and my personal composition as a man. I have always taken pride in my education and my service experience has allowed me to truly embrace the full potential of my academic aspirations. This enlightening period of my life also blessed me with a new found appreciation for my family by shedding light on the aspects of life that are genuinely important. Additionally, I was able to integrate a new and improved sense of discipline and structure into my lifestyle. As a result of this meaningful implementation I have adequately controlled my spending and expenses, allowing me to maintain a superb level of credit and minimize my level of debt. With the current financial uncertainty present in the lives of many Americans, I am very fortunate to have learned this critical skill before entering my lifelong career. Rampant credit problems and debt accumulation have caused the collapse of many citizens' ways of life. Therefore, the implications of my learned self-discipline and organizational knowledge have become all the more profound in today's fiscally precarious world market. I have brought these ideas that I've acquired with me to my current occupation, which is as a sales manager for a growing furniture company. Furthermore, by bearing witness to the various perils of an ongoing war, personal health and medical care has become yet another valuable part of my life. I have been unfortunate enough to observe many tragic injuries during my service time and I believe that all citizens should have the right to adequate and efficient medical care and health remedies when the need presents itself. Attentive and personalized service seem to have been lost in the modern healthcare world of overworked doctors, pharmaceuticals and rising malpractice legal activity. Once again, by volunteering weekly at a local emergency room, I have made a self-initiated effort to improve this regrettable situation.

Growing up in New York, I was fortunate enough to be exposed to many useful sources of inspiration and opportunity. I truly embraced all of the diversity that existed in my immediate surroundings. As a result, I was able to learn a great deal about numerous other cultures, cuisines and lifestyles. Many of my friends did not share my own ethnic background and so it was a continuously educational and didactic growth experience. My home and my upbringing have certainly helped to shape many of my core beliefs and values that I still hold dear today. My family was very supportive of my goals and childhood activities. I loved sports and was chronically involved in some type of extracurricular activity. My love of the outdoors and competitive sports found me outside the house most days until dark. Though my mother certainly worried, I was lucky enough to grow up in a relatively safe neighborhood, which helped to ease her woes. My young educational life was give and take affair. My lack of adequate scholastic focus was the primary cause of my early educational struggles throughout the first few years of my schooling. I found myself counting down the minutes, intensely eager to be free of the classroom. I yearned to be outside in the fresh air, playing with friends and engaging in sports. Though my encouraging (yet relatively strict in the traditionally sense of the word) parents quickly caught on to my poor prioritization structure. Their stern talks and perceived support swiftly corrected my lack of educational focus and I began to exert more effort towards my studies. Through my determination, I started to achieve greater levels of academic success. The arduous affair that school once was soon vanished and the classroom became an invigorating arena for accumulating knowledge. My parents were ultimately responsible for illustrating the true importance of a firm education, and I only have them to thank for my current pedagogic vigor. I now realize that strong performance in school is a crucial mechanism for ensuring the achievement of almost all occupational and life goals.

The support and encouragement of my entire family also helped to instill within me a strong sense of family values and unconditional love. I have carried these principles with me...

This is especially the case regarding my own family. Accordingly, I was instantly able to recognize my strong and deep attraction to the young lady who is now my wife. Upon meeting her, I immediately realized the true scope of her countless alluring qualities and how truly special she was. Reflecting upon my own upbringing and my core ideals concerning love, I have been able to appropriately demonstrate my profound appreciation for her and all that she adds to my life. I believe that such gratuitous interaction is vital for the success and prosperity of all relationships. Moreover, I feel that this dynamic is one that will thoroughly bind us together far into the future and create a healthy household for the upbringing of children. Our mutual agreement on the essentiality of these philosophies caused us to subsequently concur that we were both ready to bring a child into this world. Thus, we were fortunate enough to conceive a boy just two years ago. My son Luis has truly been a blessing in our lives and we are both continuing to diligently inculcate the proper values within him during his early formative years. While having a child has undoubtedly been a miracle in both of our lives, the entire process has often proved to be quite wearisome and demanding. Nevertheless, even despite the increased demands placed on our shoulders, our undying love for our son continues to make our home an enjoyable place to reside.
Though prior to the birth of my son and the promulgation of my relationship with my wife, I was faced with a big decision after graduating from high school. I knew that I wanted to attend college, though I did not want to place a hefty financial burden on my family or myself. Subsequently, in knowing that I have always possessed a strong belief in and love of my country and its values, the military became an increasingly attractive option. Thankfully, my entire family was very supportive of my decision (even despite the likely possibility that I would have to serve in a combat area). With their espousal, I enlisted in the United States Army shortly after completing my high school education. Following my preliminary training, I was initially stationed at Fort Sill in Oklahoma. During my time in the Midwest, I met several unique and inspiring people that were extremely passionate about their duties and shared my love of America. Though my job was relatively tedious in nature, I still gained a wealth of valuable knowledge through my countless interactions with my service peers. My job designation was entitled 92 Y, which is that of a Unit Supply Specialist. The responsibilities for my position included the ordering, stocking and organizing of critical supplies for the Fort. Despite the fact that this appointment was more logistical (as opposed to tactical or operational) in nature, I was able to meet some great people and learn a great deal about the provisional necessities of a functioning military base.

After my time in Oklahoma I was sent to Iraq for a tour lasting one year. The news of my departure was very frightening, though I was supported by many of my friends and counterparts that were also set to be sent out. Upon arriving in the Middle East, my apprehensions quickly dissipated and I immediately became focused on my new task assignments in this highly hostile region. Similarly to my previous experiences at Fort Sill, I was lucky enough to meet some amazing individuals. My regiment consisted of men from all over the country and from numerous ethnic backgrounds. Due the extreme intensity and long duration of time we spent together, relationships developed that authentically resembled a family. It was a new sensation to realize that we were ultimately responsible for each other's lives. I continue to remember this feeling when I reflect upon the existence of my beautiful family in New York. Knowing that my contingent and I were very far away from home, the healthy return to our families became the ultimate motivator. Stories of childhoods and reminiscing about family were regular pastimes in our off hours. The intense focus that this entire experience required has since helped me to fine-tune my concentration in tasks that mandate rapid and effective completion. Furthermore, the extreme exactitude of orders and the essentiality of precisely following them also helped me to strengthen my sense of discipline and restraint. Once again, these qualities are very important in all aspects of life, especially in the…