Day Ninety Eight

Finally got the first draft of my (exactly) 2,300 word paper!

That's why I haven't even started my blog post until 1 am, which means I didn't technically do a blog post for yesterday but you know what?

So for today, I'm going to share with you part of my essay, except I'm doing to make it more interesting by adding pictures and GIFs. It would be really cool if I could actually do that with my essay. I feel like it would make for a better read. Just as a note, my essay is supposed to be written in our own voice, so it's not going to be as formal as you''d think.

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"I have often said that if one takes care of the means, the end will take care if itself." Gandhi’s words are basically the philosophy I've adopted when it comes to Sam and I both in terms of our own lives and our relationship. When looking at Sam’s enlistment as a whole through the lens of Gandhi’s philosophy, simply put, a career in the medical field is the end and the Army is the means to that end.

 Gandhi’s message, in the context of the essay this quote came from, referred to something abstract and seemingly intangible, but in Sam’s case, the “means” and the “end” are much more concrete. This is true even in regards to smaller milestones along his journey to the ultimate “end” of his military service. When Sam was still studying for his EMT license, he would come to me completely stressed out over how he would do on the class tests or the All Skills or the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) exam...

...despite being able to perfectly describe to me what he learned in class that day. What he didn't realize is that he had more than taken care of the "means" to pass everything that he needed to which is why he passed all of his All Skills tests and the NREMT.

I think the philosophy of “means” and “end” can be applied to our relationship. For me and for Sam, the “end” is a life together. My roommate has a 27 inch by 40 inch poster of the “Victory Over Japan Day” photograph hanging on her wall, the one where the sailor is kissing the woman in the while dress right in the middle of Times Square after World War II, and it always reminds me of the day Sam and I were sitting on my bed staring at it, me because it was slightly crooked and it was bother me, and him because the photo actually made him think. I remember him turning to me and saying, “I’m gonna kiss you like that someday.” 

Even though the two people in the photo were strangers in real life and probably never saw each other again after that kiss, I look at that photograph on the wall and think of Sam and I’s “end,” the day he, like the sailor in the picture, will finally be home for good and we can have a normal relationship. As long as we take care of the “means” of maintaining our relationship long distance by staying faithful and keeping each other’s morale up, the “ends” will take care of itself.