“I don’t regret the crossroads I’ve passed. Once past the crossing, I’m on my own way. And if there’s more beauty, more flowers along the road I didn’t take, I still don’t regret it, because it wasn’t my road. My path will pass through fertile fields and lovely gardens, and over mountains and rocks and even deserts, but in all its twists it will be on the one path--known and yet mysterious. Our life is a world unto itself within many others--planes that will never touch. And all the roads are traveled by people, and sometimes they meet at the crossroads, and sometimes continue together, and sometimes part again and sometimes not. And it isn’t just a matter of direction, but of time as well. And why be so interested in other planes, when we can hardly master our own?” - Yoni Netanyahu
I just found out recently that I didn’t get the tzanchanim gibush. I’m quite disappointed because with not getting an invitation at yom sayerot that’s two of my dreams shot down by the cold selection process of the IDF. I was given the vague answer that my file doesn’t fit with their criteria. Somethings just weren’t meant to be. I’m going to feel bad for a few days, probably like I did just after yom sayerot, but I have to look ahead and focus on the endless opportunities that are still within my grasp.
As I was walking back from the dining room, mulling over the bad news in my head, I thought to myself that all this training and exercise has been for nothing. But that’s not really true, I’ve been physically and mentally much stronger lately. That’s an achievement in itself, and I better not let myself down by giving up just because the paratroopers don’t want me.
In fact, what I should do is try even harder. The best revenge is forgetting about those who might have ignored you or kicked you while you were down. I’m going to carve my own path in whatever unit I end up in, and make it the loss of shayetet-13 and tzanchanim, not my loss.
I have a good friend from Germany that was extremely dedicated to his training and a natural leader. He’s one of the most influential people I’ve ever met. To make a long story short, he went to yom sayerot and didn’t get an invitation. Then his file got mishandled and he ended up in a very undesirable unit. He fought to get out, he went to gibushim within the unit (and finished), and pulled all the strings he could, but none of it worked out. He told me once while he was still in basic training that his plan was to become an officer in the unit, so as to start building a future for himself.
That’s what sets him apart from most people. Even though he utterly hated his situation, his response was still to give as much of an effort as possible. At the end of basic training, he was selected among a handful of other people as one of the best cadets. The honor won him a free ticket into the unit that he did a gibush for-- the unit that initially rejected him.
It’s people like him and Yoni Netanyhu that set the example I need to follow. To stop looking backward, and to just focus on the present. My biggest fear now is to not end up in infantry. I’ll be devastated if that happens. But even if that turns out to be the case, I’ll keep fighting and try to make my service time as meaningful as possible. The only thing it’s going to take is a strong and focused mind.
Other than that, I will almost definitely be going to the army in the next two to three weeks. I don't yet know to which brigade.
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