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Chapter 2 - Who Am I

Monday, January 26, 2009 16:21 | Daniel Boothe

I am who I want to become.

We continue to write the chapters of our life everyday. Unfortunately, we are all writing with pens instead of pencils. Without invisible ink or erasable pens, there are some chapters we all wish we could just leave out, but why leave out a piece of your life that has made you who you are today. These are the masterpieces that have influenced us the most and excluding certain chapters might hurt instead of help someone avoid making the mistake. Why feel ashamed of something you could feel proud. I like to think that your attitude could make any mistake an opportunity to succeed.

Raised on a small tobacco farm in southern Indiana, I grew up surrounded by the value of hard work and the importance of family. Born in the very same hospital as my mother and with grandparents named Charlie-Bill and Billy-Bob, towns couldn’t come any smaller. I believe that my small-town roots have had a positive influence on my life, but ultimately I decide who I am and want I want to become. You can choose and you do have a choice.

At a young age, my sister and I moved across the country with my mother after my parents divorced. I had the unique opportunity to consistently experience new places and meet new people, but I will always call the Ohio River Valley home. Moving everywhere from Pennsylvania to Texas, my mother worked hard to give us everything she could, sacrificing to give us a better life. Following years of moving around and returning home to settle down, my mother met the man that is now my step-father. Unlike most Cinderella-step-parent stories, my stepfather was an awesome influence in my life.

My stepfather encouraged me to get involved in sports and as a result, I spent most of my high-school days wrestling and chasing girls, life was pretty simple for a testosterone-filled teenager. It wasn’t until my junior year that I began to look farther into my future.

In February 2004, I enlisted in the Indiana Army Reserve in hopes to afford the opportunity to go to college. I finished off high school at nearly the top of my class and had more than one foot in the door jumping into college, but money was always tight.

To be honest, I joined the military so that I might have a better life, to live the American dream everyone strives so hard for. Most people have some inspirational story on why they signed the dotted line, but I didn’t. As selfish as it sounds, I just wanted the chance to make something of myself, to go to school, get a job, and maybe one day settle down. I can say that I started off on a pretty good note though, getting accepted to Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.

In the fall of 2005 I enrolled in college, majoring in Philosophical Studies with an undecided minor torn between Psychology and Small Business Management. Purdue was filled with diversity, academic success, and a prestige everyone hopes to claim. In an attempt to capture a piece of that success, I pledged to become apart of the Phi Delta Theta brotherhood.

Phi Delta Theta, the Indiana Theta Chapter, was a fraternity even the man who first stepped on the moon, Neil Armstrong, saw success in. Here I met society’s future leaders and am certain I will see them again as I strive to become successful. The fraternity life taught me the importance of camaraderie and gave me business-oriented skills that I will take with me for the rest of my life.

Aside from the fraternity, I can say I always learned something new from my classes on campus. Initially, most of my classes were generalized and it wasn’t until my second year, that things started getting subject specific. Getting to study what intrigued me the most gave me hope allowed me to see a flicker of light at the end of the long tunnel.

That flicker of light was quickly snuffed out.

During my second year at Purdue, life dealt me a poker player’s nightmare, the 7-2 split. My military-tuition assistance had been denied due to lack of state funds. It turns out that the Indiana Army Reserve utilizes a pooled fund for tuition assistance with a first-come first-serve policy. I had submitted my application with ample time, but my chain-of-command failed to process the application fast enough. This left me in a few words, up the creek without a paddle.

I wasn’t about to return home and I was determined to stay independent and become successful. So I contacted my local Marine Corps recruiter out of spite. I was furious. I wanted to stick it to the Army anyway that I could. So after working with my recruiter, I found a loop hole in my contract with the Indiana Army Reserve. If I enlisted as an active-duty Marine, my reserve contract with Army was no longer valid. So on my 20th birthday I shipped to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, California beginning the long, difficult, life-changing journey of becoming a United States Marine.

I enlisted as a combat correspondent, or military journalist, and was assigned to Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California as my first duty station. I began writing for Camp Pendleton’s Scout Newspaper, the same paper I write for today.

While living in the barracks in 2006, I ran into problems. I began to drink constantly and carry on without a care. As a result, I ended up in legal trouble and was demoted because of my actions. Even though it felt like the world was coming down on me, if it wasn’t for these mistakes I would have never met the women that I love and am devoted to today, my wife.

I probably wouldn’t be here today if it was for her. As a young man, we often think of marriage as a life-ending decision, a choice that prevents us from attaining all that we had once set out to accomplish.

I can say from first-hand experience that my life has been nothing but better since. We have gone through arguments and glass-breaking fights, but we are still committed to each other till death do us part. Even my lowest of lows are better than being lost in a world all alone; in a world that wouldn’t miss you for a minute and would keep turning if you were here or not. As harsh as that sounds, it just goes to show that life really isn’t fair.

Life must have spent some time on the pitcher’s mound with Greg Maddox though; with all the curve balls I have been thrown. If you asked me a year ago where I would be today, I wouldn’t have even come close to guessing right. Just recently another curve ball sliced through my strike zone when I found out my wife is pregnant. Am I ready? I never am, but you had better believe this kid is going to know how to knock even the best of Life’s pitches out of the park.

Looking back on all that you have accomplished and the choices you’ve made are something we as a fast-paced society don’t do enough. Reflecting and reestablishing yourself is a tool everyone needs to use. This reflection is what the Greeks and Romans encouraged and what Southeast Asian cultures have developed religions around. The importance of this constant reflection is apparent throughout history and helps us learn even more from the mistakes we have already made.

We can’t change the past and we can’t predict the future, but we can change how we handle our obstacles today. Every day is another chance to change your life. If I had the chance to live my life all over, I wouldn’t change a thing. My only regret is that I didn’t make the same mistakes sooner.

I have made my share of mistakes in my life, we all have, but it is the understanding that these slip-ups make us who we are. Mistakes may become smaller or less frequent, but we are all human and are going to continue making them. It is not what we have done, but what we do to overcome.

I feel like I have had a lifetime full of experiences. I don’t know everything, my wife could tell you that, but I feel like I have experienced a full helping, while asking for seconds of the harsh realities of life. They say wisdom comes with age, but no one said how old you had to be.

As my story continues to unfold today, my recent experiences with the Southwest Veteran Business Center have become the cornerstone to any and all of my recent success. After writing and posting my first chapter of this novel, I was amazed at the response and support I received across the nation. Feeling the support of veterans and families from across the nation and hearing their responses encouraged me in ways I can not explain.

Because of this support and everything that I have been so fortunate to have access to at the center, I have been able to accomplish personal goals and dreams otherwise unattainable.

After only a few months of volunteering and involvement at the center, I was introduced to Dr. Richard Cloonan, a presidential-recognized dentist, fellow SWVBRC learner, and Vietnam veteran. Dr. Cloonan had recently started a corporation with a new product he invented and needed help marketing, so without hesitation I jumped on board.

There are only a few times in our lives we have opportunities that sound to good to be true, and this was one of them. I immediately started visiting with Dr. Cloonan at his plant in hopes of not only developing a strategy, but generating profit. This is what I wanted to do someday, create my own business, learn the inner workings of a corporation and be successful.

Only months later, we developed a marketing strategy and began penetrating the market. The experiences are priceless and the knowledge is endless and all because of a little center in Fallbrook, California called the Southwest Veteran Business Resource Center.

The center has been a family away from home, a band of brothers that guiding me through thick and thin, and has been the unwavering cornerstone in a world full of devastating storms.

Answering the question, "Who am I?" is something most of us will spend our whole life figuring out. I can’t change who I was, or the mistakes I’ve made, but I can look back and try to learn something new from each mistake.

Who am I? I am a future father, a loving husband, and a United States Marine.

Comments

  • Monday, January 26, 2009 14:15 | Eleanor Tobias
    Your story, Daniel, goes to prove the concept that without mistakes we learn nothing. Contrasts are absolutely necessary, but, of course, determination to do better is essential. Without that the mistakes would be just that, mistakes. You have always strived to improve your situation and I admire you for that. It shows in your story and I am convinced it always will. I follow your progress with great interest, and with encouragement. I know you will succeed!
    All the happiness to you, your wife and soon to be child.
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  • Wednesday, January 28, 2009 04:17 | Jeffrey Backus
    Dan, I've had the opportunity to counsel and mentor a few Marines over the past few years and use "paths" to get them to think about their future. Everyone is traveling on a "path" of life. Some people stray to the left side, some stay to the right side and many wander back and forth down the middle. I have worked for and with several who have strayed to the wrong path (to the left), paid their dues and now stick to the middle right side of the path. It sounds like you are on the "right" path now. Good luck and keep on typing.
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    • Sunday, February 01, 2009 09:17 | Daniel Boothe
      Jeff, the middle can be a dangerous place. If you screw up and haven't learned from your mistake you can continue making them without consequences. I sure hope I am on the right path now though. Every day is a new opportunity and has a lesson to be learned. Thanks for the response.
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  • Wednesday, January 28, 2009 07:18 | LeRoy Scheller Jr
    Your story points out that where there is a way to learn a person can learn and overcome his past mistakes. During my tour of duty in the USMC I like Jeffrey, had the opportunity to counsel many young Marines about their future and the choices they had. Many found the correct path as you did and are still going strong in their life choices. You , at least to me , are one of these and can only go higher in your life acheivements.Good luck and continue with your very interesting story . I look forward to reading it.
    Leroy
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    • Sunday, February 01, 2009 09:20 | Daniel Boothe
      Leroy, I hope I can learn from your lifetime worth of experiences and I look forward to more of your insight. I will say spending as much time I have on the bottom of the totem poll, has and is going to benefit me when I have the chance to stand in that leadership position.
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  • Wednesday, January 28, 2009 10:37 | Lyndon Dellis
    Danny,
    Great chapter. As soon as I finish this comment I'm going to post my next chapter. Knowing and working with you at the center has been a distinct pleasure. You are very wise for your age. I look forward to a long and profitable relationship both now and into the future. Semper Fi!
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    • Wednesday, January 28, 2009 16:51 | Deleted user
      Dan, You really have a gift in being able to express yourself in this chapter. Anyone who reads this chapter will be drawn into your thought process and will want to read more. It is a priveledge and an honor to have you help me in the development of THE ANSWER.
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  • Thursday, January 29, 2009 09:08 | Deleted user
    Hello Daniel,
    I really enjoyed reading your story and look forward to reading the new additions. I especially admire you for sharing your problems with alcohol. So many men and women have had and will have problems like that in the Marine Corp and I believe that sharing your story can and will help others in perhaps prevention, recovery and managing their problems. Thank you Daniel you are going to be a great father.
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  • Friday, January 30, 2009 16:46 | Samuel Luna
    Daniel,good chapter.Being a father will give you motivation and focus.Thinking of how i wanted my kids to be proud of me,while in active army,i ran a 2 mile run in 11 mins. 7 secs.,At The Age Of 34.That's better than any marathon runner's time.Anyways,take care buddy and keep on truckin.
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    • Sunday, February 01, 2009 09:21 | Daniel Boothe
      Sam, being a father is going to be the hardest thing I have ever done. It seems it is one thing I can't prepare for. I hope you know you are my go to guy for questions and advice.
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  • Tuesday, February 03, 2009 23:36 | Roger Reed
    Hey Daniel,
    Great to read your blog and hope to see you again at the SWVBRC. We were both at the SWVBRC opening on Nov 1,2008 and while you were taking photos I was taking the Video. Great to see you join and progress. I too have become a Learner with the intent to further my involvement in supporting veterans in my local community or nationwide as the case my be. I currently have my own business and was not recently discharged but I am always looking for ways to make my business, my community contributions and my life better, richer and more rewarding. I think that being a Learner and getting the knowledge out to others can go a long way to achieve that goal. I know that in helping others we also gain an inner strength which is needed in these rough economic times. You are lucky to have a good partner in life as am I and I thank my wife for her support and guidance just as you are grateful for your wife standing beside you. Good luck and good job.
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    • Sunday, June 07, 2009 19:37 | Daniel Boothe
      All my strength, ability, and power comes from her. She is my rock and the cornerstone from which everything I am able to accomplish comes. Without her in my life, there is no telling where I would be. Much like the center and my recent experiences with Dr. Cloonan.
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  • Saturday, February 28, 2009 06:24 | Deleted user
    Daniel, you have a great gift for writing. I enjoyed ready your two posts, and look forward to the next one. You can really bring the reader into the story, and this will be a great asset you can leverage to help tell the stories of many others who don't have that gift. I know Albert, and you capture him very well in your writing.
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    • Tuesday, June 09, 2009 06:13 | Daniel Boothe
      Al is a unique character and not very hard to describe, but harder to convince...lol. I wouldnt be where I am today without him though and am thankful I had the opportunity to meet him.
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  • Sunday, March 01, 2009 23:15 | Darlena Wills
    Good job keeping on point and keeping your piece interesting and moving along. I urge you to listen to the song by "God Bless the Broken Road" by Rascal Flatts because the lyrics tell how ones mistakes leads them to the right path. It's a great song and given your experiences, you'll find a common human theme. We all (hopefully) learn from our mistakes. Some have to make the same mistakes multiple times b4 it penetrates so count yourself fortunate. Trust me, you don't have a monopoly on screw-ups. Check with every person you know, they have a lundry list of their own shameful moments. Kudos to the wife for having a positive impact. Congrats on da baby. And Kudos to Dr. Cloonan for drawing on your talent, it sounds like a win-win venture. Wishing you all the best and waiting for Chapter 3!
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    • Sunday, June 07, 2009 19:35 | Daniel Boothe
      Dr. Cloonan and I could probably write our own novel with everything that has developed, but only time will tell if it is a success worth telling. I attribute all my wonderful hands-on experiences to the SWVBRC and the ability it gave me to network and accomplish my dreams.
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  • Saturday, April 18, 2009 06:48 | Laurel Ho
    Hi Daniel, I was trying to find your email address so I will take care of housekeeping here :) I was trying to join you all in Vegas, but had to try and figure out what was up with my vehicle before heading across the desert by my lonesome. Anyways, could not get it fixed in short notice so I will not be joining you and the team at the Convention. I trust that you will represent VERY WELL. With that said, I have to say coming from someone who could be your Mom, I am so proud of you. While inspiring new Learners you have also inspired me to start a journal and learn more about myself, forgive myself and try to learn how to pat myself on the back once in a while. For that I thank you very much. Stick to the right path kiddo, just look what you have accomplished so far.
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  • Saturday, April 18, 2009 06:50 | Laurel Ho
    What a success story, Cloonan and Boothe. A chance meeting at a little place in Fallbrook and look what it has turned into. Sweet!
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  • Saturday, August 15, 2009 10:34 | Deleted user
    Daniel, Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% ho you respond to it. Eventually everything works out in the end. If it hasn't worked out, it's not the end, so we must continue to carry on and remember one thing. Hard work results in success, so keep plugging and all will be OK.
    Carol
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  • Tuesday, February 14, 2012 09:47 | Charles Bocage
    Aloha Daniel, it seems to be a long time since you have posted, I hope everything is fine with you, best wishes,
    charles
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