What to do? What to do?

My fellow Americans, today I will read a speech to you about my future. When I look to the future, there are many grey areas. As prepared I am for the future and think I know exactly what is to come, I can’t help but think that it will just change again. But before we talk about the future we must look at the past. From the start of my high school career to now, I’ve planned on doing many different things from a professional Fortnite player, truck driver, and heavy equipment mechanic, to a firefighter. Although firefighting is my passion and is what I am going to college for, it’s not always what I originally wanted. When I started at Oak Hill my dream was to play professional Fortnite, like every kid in my generation that is all I cared about, until of course I realized how much I sucked. The dream was short-lived and unrealistic. I fell out of love with video games and didn’t play them much, so I sold my PlayStation and gave up that dream.  Over that first summer, I spent my time working at a golf course on the grounds crew, it was my first “blue-collar” job. That’s when I wanted to become a truck driver.  I hauled equipment with the one ton for the golf course. It was super fun and quickly realized I was good at it and could make it a career on a bigger scale. Like my stepdad, I had a passion for driving. For twenty-something years he drove low-bed trucks and hauled heavy equipment. I thought it was the coolest thing ever and because I did it with him, that had to be my career I said to myself, “This is the start of a long career”, I was wrong. My dad stopped driving truck and I quit at the golf course so I was left searching for a new dream. At the end of my sophomore year, I started working at Whited Equipment, a heavy equipment dealership, I was tasked with cleaning equipment, doing inventory, and doing small maintenance on the equipment. While working there I had the opportunity to train to become a heavy equipment mechanic. I constantly pressured my boss to start the training. It never happened. With this blocking my way, I soon realized that maybe that wasn’t my career path.

Back in the fall of 2021, I  joined Wales Fire as a Jr. Firefighter. I thought at the time I wouldn’t make it a career, sure I liked the job and the tasks at hand but I couldn’t see it as my future. I only enjoyed firefighting because my stepdad did it. It was a bonding moment for him and me. It’s part of the reason he and I are so close to each other. He’s been a firefighter since the ‘90s. When I first met him at three years old, I thought at the time he was the coolest person ever, and he still is. We went to multiple fire calls where it was just him and he would put the fire out by himself. I went on every single call with him, every meeting, and training I could attend. To say that man is my hero is an understatement.  After all, he is the reason that I do it. On July 8, 2022, I took a break from it to collect my bearings. I had gotten behind in school and I had a job, I was working like a dog every day and had no time for other things. But shortly after my break I collected myself and resumed where I left off, also while joining another department. Part of me felt off, I was not the same without a fire-fighting family, I felt incomplete, and honestly bored not having a department training or meeting to look forward to. I continued my firefighting career on October 17, 2023, with Wales Fire, also joining Litchfield Fire Rescue. In the following months, I was offered the opportunity to take a Fire Fighter 1&2 course to get my pro board certification. This certification will allow me to pursue the career I want, the only career I want. I also applied to the Fire Science program at Sothern Maine Community College. In relation to that, I applied to the SMCC Live-In Program. This program will allow me to live in a fire station during my two years in college and gain real-life experience from professionals. I would run calls, train with them, and potentially work for them after college. On April 12, 2024, I was accepted into the program by Gray Fire Rescue. And that’s it, I haven’t always known what I want in life but that’s okay. To not have a plan is alright, for some they have always been sure, or if you’re like me you have always known it’s just taken longer to make it there. This has been a story about my years in high school and my future endeavors. I hope you all have been able to find this story as relatable to you as I have. Not following my path exactly, but not knowing what to do but it working out in the end. 

“Firefighters” by AMagill is licensed under CC BY 2.0.