I must have been oblivious, for I never saw any of the signs. He wanted nothing more than to join, to be somebody, to have purpose in his partially eventful life. I never knew why, that was beyond me. It didn’t matter anyways, simply because It was his decision and believe you me, his mind was well made up.

He was only 19 when he came home on a fresh spring day to hand the pamphlet to my father. He had told him “Dad, this is what I want to do with my life.” My dad, sitting down and taking it all in, was just speechless. His face completely flushed in awe. You could tell he was thinking something but you’d never know what it was. The only words my father spoke were “Son, are you completely sure you want to make this kind of commitment and decision? This is a huge decision and it’s not something you can just back out of.” And of course, with Adam’s mind and more importantly his heart set on joining the marines, it was final.

After he made up his mind, it didn’t take long for him to start preparing. The physical training, the visits to the station, and the way he acted. I watched him quickly transform from boy to man. He didn’t see it, but I sure did. Crying on the inside, but showing nothing on the outside. Little did he know, I wasn’t exactly happy with his decision, and unfortunately my opinion didn’t matter.

It was just he and I around the house to keep each other company. Having spent almost every day together, it was hard to imagine what my life without him would be like. I find myself drowning in emotion when I think of him leaving. We had spent a few years getting to grow with each other more and have understanding for one another. And just like that it was all put to an end. He might not have noticed what was happening, but I knew what all of this meant. I was losing, and had lost my best friend.