Proud leader of an armored tank.

Armored tanks are made to be driven by strong men; and I am proud to be one of them. I served in the Greek National Army for fifteen months as a second lieutenant and I feel proud.

I was the leader and the head of my tank, the name of it - Leopard 2 A6HEL. When I first stood in front of it I felt small and weak. It was more than ten feet heigh, it weighed more than seventeen tons and it had 1,479 horsepower. All that made me feel tiny and scared, but inside I felt excitement because I knew that I was going to be the leader of that big monster.  

Leopard 2 A6HEL

One day in November we had a big practice at the base and we were going to shoot with real missiles, twelve each. I caught myself being nervous and scared, because that was my first time sitting in the leader’s seat. I was the commander and I had to give the correct orders to aim and shoot the targets. In every round we had to shoot 4 targets when we were on the move; and that’s really hard to do, because it’s difficult to aim and lock the target while you are on the move. It was my turn now, me and my crew descended into the tank and we were waiting for the green light from the captain who was on the radio. While I was sitting in the tank and waiting, I could easily hear my heart beating so hard and I thought that it was going to come out of my chest. 

Here I was taking driving lessons of an older version tank.


After a few minutes we started moving and shooting targets. I had the control of the gun and I did pretty well in every round. Firing with that big gun was really noisy and I could feel the power of the acoustic wave hitting on my body. After our last round I heard from the radio - “Congratulations, Congratulations, you hit all the targets” it was our captain, I felt so proud at that time because we actually hit all the targets at once; and it felt so good to hear my captain giving me congratulation, when I knew that I did well.

That was one of the greatest moments of my life and I am not going to forget it. I want to tell these stories to my kids and my grandkids and make them feel proud about me, because serving my country is an honor for me and my family.

Leaving Your Homeland Is Hard

LEAVING MY HOMELAND

 

Moving to another country was not easy at all. It is basically like starting a whole new chapter in your life. I lived in Greece ever since I can remember. I spent 21 years of my life surrounded by family, friends, and familiar places. I knew that at some point I would have to move out of the country and come to the United States since my mother had already moved; however it did not seem real until the day before I was going to board the plane and leave Greece behind me for a long time. The day before I left, I decided to spend the day with as many friends and family as possible. There was a strange vibe in the atmosphere and time seemed to go by very slowly. I thought the more time I spent with the people I loved, it would be less difficult to say goodbye.

The day I was flying out, my closest family and friends came along at the airport to say goodbye. It was all laughs and jokes, and none of us were thinking of the fact that we would not see each other for a long time. This all was until the announcer spoke on the loud speaker calling all the passengers on my flight to start boarding the plane. Everyone got so silent that I could hear my own heart beating so hard and so fast like I had never felt it before.

I started hugging and saying goodbye to everyone. I was still keeping strong and I had not yet broken a tear but not until my fiancé’s turn came to say goodbye. She was full of tears and could not say a word. I gave her the biggest and warmest hug I had ever given her in the three years we were together. I could not help it and I broke out in tears.

The announcer called the number of my flight again and asked all the passengers to board the plane immediately. I took my bags, said goodbye, and walked towards the gate. The airport was small, and I could see everyone while I was walking towards the gate. My fiancé was now crying on my father's shoulder while everyone else was waving their hands towards me.

Now sitting on my seat in the airplane, the only thing that was in my mind was how it would be when I got to the States. I was so excited to see my mother and my brothers, I had not seen them in over two years and the excitement was growing even bigger as the airplane was moving towards my new homeland.

The trip was long and very tiring; time seemed to be going backwards and I could no longer sit in the airplane. The nine hour trip seemed like days. When we landed we had to wait in the plane until it was our turn in the economy class to get off. My excitement was over the roof and I could no longer stand there waiting. We got off; I checked in with immigration, took my bags, and I walked towards the exit. When I exited, I stood there frozen waiting to see familiar faces; I was scared that I would not recognize them since it had been so long, but I guess you never forget your mother's loving face.

Life in the United States is much different than life is in Greece. People only mind their own business and it seems that they are on "fast forward" mode. I have been working since I arrived at a local diner and I am now going to build my future. Going back to school at the beginning seemed like a crazy idea and I thought that I would never make it a day back in a classroom; but here I am now, going strong, and I do not want to change a thing.

   
   

Welcome

Welcome to my blogspot. Here I am gonna share with you my story line so far.