Tyler Butler

Mrs. Riddle

English Composition I

10 March 2021

As a child one always has dreams of what they will be when they grow up, some they

may be glad came true, and some they may look back and laugh at, but that is the joy of a dream.

One’s dreams and goals of what they want to be when they grow up change almost overnight

when they are little. Things that seem out of reach when one is older are only an imagination

away when they are younger, however, anything is possible with a little determination.

Growing up I had several dreams that I knew I wanted to come true. However, my all-

time favorite dream was being an Infantryman in the U.S. Army. I was an army brat growing up

and lived on Fort Riley for a while. I remember waking up every single morning and watching

my dad get dressed for PT. He would put his socks and shoes on, kiss me, and tell me he would

be back. I watched him drive away and ran back inside as quickly as I could to grab some

breakfast and sit by the window. I would sit there for what seemed like an eternity waiting on all

the soldiers running by my house in their PT uniforms singing cadences. Then during the day, I

would get to see all the Humvees and tanks driving by, and the black hawks flying over all day. I

loved it and I knew that is exactly what I wanted to do when I grew up.

The other dream I had as a kid was to play college football. It was my favorite sport. I

practiced as much as I could. From actual team practices to just tossing around a football with

my dad, I was always outside working to become a better player. If I was not tossing the football

around, I was watching the film. My dad and I would record my little league games so we could
find all the mistakes I made and worked on correcting them. Saturdays were reserved for

watching college football and Sundays for NFL football. When I got to middle school, I started

spending time in the gym lifting weights. I lifted weights throughout middle school and high

school and competed in power meets. It helped make me stronger and in turn helped me to be a

better football player.

My dreams changed as I graduated high school and was faced with the reality of being

out on my own. I was overwhelmed with the decision of what I wanted to do. How could it be

that all those dreams you have growing up seem so far away and then one day it is quickly

knocking on your door. Although my college football dream did not happen, I was able to fulfill

one of my dreams and I signed my contract for the Army.

Now that I am out of the Army, my dreams are a little different. My dream now is to

become an Oklahoma Highway Patrol. I loved serving my country and I want to continue serving

my community. It is rewarding to know that I can help others in a time of need. Whether it be

helping an elderly person get her cat out of a tree or protecting the community from bad people, I

want to do it. I want to give my time to others and protect others from anything and everything I

possibly can. Although I am excited and thankful that I am a part of the Drumright Police

Department, becoming an OHP is my long-term goal.

My other goal as a husband and father is to give my family a stable environment. While

being in the Army, I was gone a lot. If I was not on a deployment, I was training. I would spend

weeks at a time in the field. We never got to stay in one place for long. We moved eight times in

six years. Every time we would start to get settled somewhere it was time to go. My wife, kids

and I miss all the friends we made over the years. They became our family because they were all

we had. Although I am thankful for all the amazing experiences, I would love to be able to make
my family a forever home. One where we do not have to say goodbye to all our friends every

year.

As you can tell my dreams now are similar in the sense of protecting and serving my

community, however, being back home allows for my immediate and extended family to be a

part of my daily life as well. It allows my wife and kids to have a stable life and support system,

and my kids to attend school in the community that we love and grew up in when the time

comes.

I have learned throughout my life that dreams come and go but one is only as successful as they

allow themselves to be. If they do not work for what they want, they will never succeed. I am

thankful that I was able to accomplish my childhood dream, but I am now ready to go after and

accomplish my new dreams as an adult, and I know nothing will stand in my way.