My family has three generations of heroes, my Great Grandfather died in a fire, and my Grandpa died shortly after retiring from complications from breathing in junk from fighting fires his whole life. I grew up a son of a hero, a man who sacrificed his life for people he had never met before. As a little kid I always dreamed of being a firefighter, not to be a hero, but to be like my Dad.
It is a field that I ignored and put off in the back of my mind. I served my mission and shortly after my return was married to my sweetheart. I put my head down and studied accounting, why I will never know except it was something that I thought I would excel at. It has been three years since graduation and I am still not working in accounting. Exactly one year ago I thought about becoming a firefighter. My wife and I met with the recruiting Lieutenant in my area and I began working towards joining the volunteer department to get experience and then I would began school in the fall of 08.
As school began I absolutely loved it, enjoyed every second of it. For the volunteer department we were going through classes and every saturday we had hands on drills, where we were able to practice what we had learned in the classroom. The academy at school was going great, I was doing things that I thought were impossible for me. I felt like I was living a dream life, it felt like I finally had a purpose in this life.
Well during this last quarter I have wondered if I want to continue to pursue this dream. I had many discussions with my wife and my instructor at the academy about my future and if it was truly something I wanted to do for the rest of my life. This has been the hardest decision that I have had to ever make. In my hesart I want to carry on the legacy of my father and make my childhood dream a reality. But when it comes down to it I just don't want to live the lifestyle that a firefighter is tortured through. For me it is not worth missing my priesthood responsibilities on Sunday and living a third of my life for the next 30 years in a harsh and sometimes crude enviornment if I don't have to.
I am so glad that I have had the chance to experience firefighting and to gain even more respect for my family members before me and for those amazing people who run into a burning building while everyone else is running out. I will live out my fantasy world through being a volunteer firefighter. I am proud of my firefighting legacy but it looks like the chain will end in the fourth generation(sorry dad, grandpa, and great grandpa). But you never know when a new chain of heroes will began again.
6 comments:
well put, I couldn't be prouded of you.
You're a good man, Brandon. Thanks for looking after my sister, we couldn't of asked for anyone better to do it.
At least you still have that cool uniform! The experiences you've had and the things you've learned will forever be an important part of your life. You should be proud of yourself for making decisions that are the best for you and your sweet wife. Good luck with figuring it all out. We will always support you and be there if you need anything:)
great post, son. i'm so happy hannah isn't living at home anymore...i owe you big time. the checks in the mail!
Have you considered being a Police Officer. It is an honorable profession. You also have the added bonus that the public hates you, unlike firefighters.
I wonder who wrote that last post Brandon. hmmm... do you know any police officers that might also be U of U fans?
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