As a Latina immigrant with a thick accent, I always wanted to fit in and feel like a real American. My husband and I moved to the U.S. in 2013 as asylees. I started working as a family support worker for a Non-Profit Organization and stayed in the sector for about eight years growing as a person, while seeing hundreds of undocumented immigrant families trying to fit in, pursuing their American Dream. But beyond my job and knowing that I was helping my community and changing so many lives in the Non-Profit sector, I wanted more. I wanted to feel more American; to stop being “just” the Colombian with an accent, and my answer was always me dressed in greens and with the United States over my heart.

For the last 15 months, I have experienced the most challenging time of my life. Starting with the 4+ months in training, to reporting to my new duty station knowing I was getting deployed and will be away from my family for almost a year; 15 months that have made me stronger physically and mentally, a time where I have met great people, friends, mentors, 15 months of living an adventure. During these challenging times, I have found that I am more capable than I thought; that pushing hard is worth it,that we own our story, and that we all are capable of achieving whatever we want if we really want it with our heart. Your experience in the Army not only depends on others, it depends on who you are, how committed you are, and how far you want to get.