Future Soldier Judy Rodriguez

Rodriguez, Judy a photo by Official Army Future Soldier Center on Flickr.

My name is Judy Rodriguez. I'm 29 years old and I'm so proud to say that I'm a Future Soldier. I recently enlisted in the U.S Army!!! Yes, some would say a little older than most people usually join the military, but late is better than never. The Reality of life is that you don't always get what you want, when you want it. This is something I’ve always liked and been interested in. I actually became an adult way ahead of my time!

Let's see where do I begin; well I was married for ten years. I was 16 yrs old when I started dating my ex-husband and got married at 17 yrs old. So, I obviously had to learn what it was to be an adult, wife and all the responsibilities that come with those titles at a very young age. It was hard, at times I had to work full time “plus hours” at times. While going to school full time, maintaining a husband and household! I guess it didn't go so bad since I did get my high school diploma, then my associates degree, and kept my job and later moved to my career in the medical field.

My desire has always been to keep pushing myself and accomplish everything I’ve wanted to do. Once I became single, I had to find myself again and become my own person. It had been so long since I only had myself to worry about and consider. My once upon a time thought and desire to join the military came back. I’ve been fortunate enough to have two cousins, friends and my boyfriend who are military veterans (different branches) to guide me through this process. Honestly, when I started considering the military once again, as the questions aroused, such as “Am I too old already?," "Would I be able to keep up with the young kids? Just things of that nature. Then my personality kicked in. LOL HELLO!!!!! Judy, of course you can!!!. You can do everything and anything you put your mind to! If you want “IT” that much you will succeed (where there‘s a “WILL“ there‘s a “WAY“).

I’ve accomplished a lot considering everything I’ve been through in life. I’ve succeeded and accomplished everything I’ve set out to do thus far. “This is the opportunity of a lifetime, something you've always wanted to be a part of. You’ll be part of a team, ‘a Warrior‘!! (something I consider I'm definitely good at). I’ll be part of something greater, bigger than ourselves, serve our country, and defend our freedom.

At that point I spoke to my man and my family and made “THE” call to my recruiting office. I had a lot of support and great advice. My man helped a lot, him being former military (Navy). I’m very proud and happy to have someone who knows and understands the military life. He has helped me with the training process such as: Ranks, Saluting, Marching, ABC's, etc., as well as the overall transitioning from civilian before BCT - and may I add he’s learned too! Since I’m Army and he’s former Navy he had to learn the Army ranks and remember to say “MOS” to me instead of “Rate”, which I still find it funny... he and my family have been my major support team.

My sister has been amazing as well, she’s very active with the Future Soldiers Family page on Facebook. She’s learning military abbreviations to be able to understand the military lingo that I‘ll be speaking once I’ve finished BCT. I am extremely excited, motivated, and ready to embark my new life in the military. I’m happy to be able to show my niece and younger brothers, who are very important to me, a great example and maybe even be their role model. To show them it's never too late to go after what you want in life no matter what life throws at you, even when the opportunity presents itself a little later than expected. Fort Jackson better get ready, Here I come!!!!!! ;-)