Dear Pressure Plate Family,
I hope this week hasn't been too hectic and you're out there achieving your micro and macro goals. Having goals and the ability to go after them is a crucial function of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," and it's something we should be exercising every moment we can. I am a morning person and many people I meet are too, but some are not and the ones that aren't always have the same question: "why do you enjoy the morning time?" and to me the answer is simple... I have goals, I have ambitions, I have air in my lungs, blood in my veins, and the mental fortitude needed to capably put into action my wants and desires, making my goals obtainable and my ambitions practical - all within the scope of the morning time. Within that first awakening moment, gratitude enters my brain space, and I begin manifesting the day's goals and intersecting macro goals that can be accomplished as well. The lives we live, however complicated and entangled with the required functions of society, are without a doubt the single greatest gift we have. Our options are endless in where we can go and what we can pursue to achieve.
In 2024, we, as a community, are merely getting our feet wet with how society views us, uses us, and exploits us as a people and as a community, we are catching on. As a veteran, I see the need for military defense spending, and as a veteran, I know that we neglect our veteran's mental health, physical health, and overall well-being once they're off the system of active duty or reserve. When servicemembers become veterans, there is a stigma that is immediately applied, and to the back-burner you go. As a student, I see a world seemingly intimidated by veterans, so they don't know how to treat or act with veterans; also, as a student, I see the need for education and learning within the veteran community and how exposing yourself to unique/different perspectives can challenge your own way of thinking, enabling you to think outside the box you thought you were already thinking. It's hard to see what you don't know and initially do not understand, but growth is all about change and accountability in oneself.
There are a lot of goals, micro and macro, between all of us within the veteran community, and there is a shared experience/collective consciousness among us. There has never been a generation of fighting men and women in modern times that experienced what we experienced over the last 20 years in the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). The generational conflicts, the sons watching fathers and mothers pass away only to grow up to die in the same country ten years later. Our goals need to change; our collective understanding of our capabilities as veterans can take us to the furthest lengths. Individualistic mentalities is what brought us this idea of a free nation, but a collective understanding of where we need to go as a nation needs to be established.
We can do better. I am optimistic about that. I'll keep at it on my end.
I hope you all have a great weekend; stay safe, be kind to yourself, and challenge yourself at some point this week if you haven't already!
- Justin Eggen
01/26/2024