In August, right after senior year began, I went to Collinsville to speak with an Air Force recruiter about the steps I would need to take to join. I was told that I would need to sign a bunch of papers and get my parents to sign too. That was all.

I was put on a waiting list for four months and on December 15 I was sworn into the Delayed Entry Program. This is the Air Force’s program for people whose career isn’t available at the time. I was put into DEP because I’m still a high school student.

Now, once a month I go to Collinsville to participate in what can only be summed up as a “basic training preview.” Fifteen other people and I visit Scott Air Force Base, work-out and do promotional events to get ready for the grueling three months to come.

Basic training is in San Antonio, Texas, and I leave in June. Not only will it be agonizingly hot, but I will be dressed in full military uniform which adds another 20 degrees of heat. But I know that in the end it will all be worth the struggle.

Signing up with the Air Force for the next four years has given me access to something I never thought I would have access too. I can now get my college paid for in full if I go to a school in Illinois. I don’t want to, but I will if that is the sacrifice.

If I want to go to school in another state, then the Air Force will pay a portion of it. I also get a scholarship for when I have a spouse and /or child.

For the people that cannot afford to pay for their college tuition the Air Force is a great alternative. How many high school students can say that the next four years of their lives are set with a guaranteed paycheck?

Being in the Air Force at such a young age has some drawbacks, no doubt. But it has a lot more benefits that will help me well after I’ve graduated and moved on in my life.