It was great at first. Everything was new and exciting. Every time I went on vacation I couldn't wait to get back to work after just a few days. The years passed and all the new and exciting things became old and boring. I started doing back-to-back deployments and started to really burn out. When I went to my twenties high school reunion I had the chance to see what civilian life could be like and I wanted it. I didn't want to move anymore when the Army decided they needed me somewhere. I wanted to put down roots and couldn't do that while I was in the military. Being a soldier was a really hard life. Ultimately I hated doing the same thing day after day with no change in sight, I despised leaders who didn't care for their subordinates, and most importantly, I could no longer lead my soldiers from the front. I'll be the first to say that joining the Army was the best thing that happened to me. I have grown so much as a person and the lessons I have learned are invaluable. I eventually realized that the negative factors outweighed any possible benefit I could have received from continued service. It's about time I did it