Patriotism

  In these days I am hanging on with everything I have.  I have been interning at the IPO for 2 months and 2 days, with only 7 working days left.  I linger on every conversation with my co-workers, every laugh with my office mates, and every step through the yard.  I feel like I need to quickly gather up as many USNA pens, t-shirts, and memorabilia to take this place that has quickly formed a little spot in my heart with me.
  The Colonel has been out for a week and it doesn't feel the same.  My mentor is gone until Friday, and while this is the true test of my competence, I want her around to share what little time I have left.  I want the happy hours and lunch breaks with my office mates to last forever.  But things in the air are changing.  I have to start thinking about packing for Ft. Lauderdale, the next leg of my life.  Derek has his Detach Form in the office already, and I have begun to pass the orientation I laid the groundwork for to Buddy.  I want to scream NO! I'm just getting settled here, I've fallen head over heels in love with Annapolis, yet the drastic change that is upon me looms overhead.
  On 4th of July, watching the fireworks at the Lancaster Barnstormers game it hit me how much this place has come to mean to me.  Not because it's a world renowned institution, not because men in uniform are hot, and not because it looks good on my resume.  I've never considered myself a patriotic person, I wouldn't even say I've had much pride in my country.  In fact, I spent an entire semester and a summer trying to hide being an American while I was abroad, and my biggest pet-peeve is ethnocentrists.  I'm extremely focused on what makes other countries amazing, countries that I want to travel to and learn the languages of- that I sort of rid myself of the appreciation for my own country.
  But, as I watched the fireworks explode and listened to the yee-haw USA music play I thought about all the accidental 8:00AMs I've gotten caught in when the entire yard stops and salutes the flag.  I thought about the goosebumps I've gotten watching the Blue Angels twice this summer, and the knowledge I now know about the Navy.  Mostly, I thought about the guys I've gotten to know so well this summer, and the honorable duty they're serving.  And finally, I thought about a fantastic road trip I was planning with them for next summer when Buddy, a 2nd LT in the Marines said, "...if I'm not deployed."  I don't believe in wars, and I think some of our involvements abroad are unnecessary, an opinion I'm usually forced to keep to myself, but I said a quick thank you to whatever greater being is up there for allowing me to live in a privileged country and to have men like the ones I know who serve it.