My Story

      I wish I could say I had some honorary military title or came from a family of top tier Marines, but the truth is I started this website as a a high school senior with a strong passion for military appreciation. It all started when I attended a Memorial Day service in 2021 and to be frank with you, this day changed my life. I found myself lying in an undeniable amount of guilt and a decent amount of tears as well. Guilt for every time I took this Country and my freedoms for granted. Guilt for not thanking every Veteran I had ever seen, and guilt for living life as if it had no end. 

      I spent the next couple of months pondering what I could do to make a substantial change in the way my community perceived/appreciated the military and other service members, but as always life took its course, and soon AP classes, cheerleading captain duties, and work took over. This was until August 26, 2021. On this day, 13 United States Military members lost their lives in Kabul Afghanistan. This day served as a shocking reminder that tomorrow isn't promised, but translated to me that I needed to do something. I needed to make up for the lives that were lost. I needed to make it up to their families and to my Country. 

       A couple days later, I decided abruptly that I wanted to enlist in the USMC, and started attending Marine Corps trainings. After cheer practice I would sprint to my car, ripping off my pink bow, and changing into athletic clothes that I knew would soon be covered in dirt and sweat. My parents, whom I always told I was going to be a police officer, were caught off guard by this idea of enlistment and forced me to ponder it before I made the biggest decision of my life. It was after deep soul searches and talks with people I admired that I realized I can be grateful in my own unique way. Enlisting is not the only way to thank this beautiful Country, but simply the only method I knew at the time.  

      So, here I am now. Nineteen years old, continuously trying to navigate my way through the website building process alongside my post graduation plan. I am a Junior at Ave Maria University, planning to graduate with my Bachelors in Communications and eventually become that police officer I've always dreamed of. 

      However, before I  started life on my own, I needed to start this. I needed to make peace with the part of me that is military engineered. I needed to hold myself accountable and give back to the community that my heart feels it is always a part of and I needed to express my deepest and sincerest gratitude. 

     So, to any military member, thank you for your service, and to any family member of one, thank you for your sacrifice.

       To Daegan, Darin, David, Dylan, Humberto, Hunter, Jared, Johanny, Kareem, Maxton, Nicole, Ryan, and Rylee, you are heroes, who live in my, and thousands of others, hearts and prayers. 

God Bless, 

Kailie Summer Kent