Reason #2: Join the Navy, See the World

"Most travel-hungry people overlook the Navy when searching for a job. People oppose the idea for many different reasons. However, if you believe that the humanitarian and international aid efforts are genuine – then you may want to consider it as an alternative to the cubicle life of most people you know."
-Theodore Scott

(The quote above is from this article.)  My closest friends know that I'm into globes.  Weird obsession, I know, which is why up until now, only my closest friends knew. :-P  But I spot them everywhere (especially on TV) and play with them every chance I get.  I still don't have my own, but I'm afriad I might have a house full of them one day.  The last time I was globe-gazing, I learned about Lesotho, a country in Africa that is entirely surrounded by another country, South Africa, and which I think is the only country like this in the world.  I never learned that in geography!!  All this to say I want to travel.  I mean, I have the bug BAD.  I've been collecting travel brochures and planning imaginary trips all my life.  I'd like to see the whole world eventually, but my biggest desire is the Pacific Islands.  I belong there.  I'm constantly consuming literature about their cultures, geography, languages, flora & faua.  Lucky for me, there are plenty of Navy bases in the Pacific!

Recently I realized that my desire to travel is not a dream, it's an expected reality.  Then I immediately realized this reality would not come to pass if I continued in my present life.  I have no means with which to travel, and it's highly unlikely I'd have them anytime soon.  I can imagine myself as an 88-year-old lady in a nursing home, still flipping through a calendar of Hawaii and dreaming of the places I never got to see. I am careful about not believing every perk the Navy advertises hook, link, & sinker, but from talking to many sailors from past and present, seeing the world WILL happen in the Navy. For example, I have keepsakes from all over Asia that my grandfather sent home to his children while deployed (including a glass buoy from the Sea of Japan in my living room), and have seen current Facebook photos of sailor friends all over the world.

And the best part?  Once I'm finally ready to settle down, I'll have a world of places to pick from. :)