My entire adult life has been one of service to my country. At eighteen, I enlisted in the US Army and served during peacetime and at war. As the years have passed, I reflect more and more about my time as a soldier in the United States Army and the other servicemembers I encountered during my tenure. I would like to say I was patriotic from the very start, but my patriotism came much later in life after hanging up the uniform for a suit and tie, a computer, and a desk after becoming a civil servant. The vision of America offers many complexities depending upon individual perspective and the personal lens through which she is being viewed. As a young, impressionable teenager born and raised in humble beginnings, patriotism was not at the uppermost part of my mind after high school. I would like to believe that I am special, but I am no different from the millions of service members who served before me or those who came after.