I wanted to share a topic that has recently become something very important to me, our military. I have been meeting a lot of people recently, some of them have served honorably in our military, and I am embarrassed to say that I have not thought about what is happening and has happened overseas before. There are brave heroes fighting for our country, for the freedoms we have every single day and they are not appreciated or thanked enough. So for anyone who has served, is currently serving, will serve, or has a loved one in the military, thank you for sacrificing yourself and your family to help protect those of us who may not remember exactly what you are putting on the line.
Specifically, I would like to bring attention to our military veterans. When I thought of a veteran, I thought of an old man who fought in the war years ago. Obviously that is not true, veterans are of all ages. There are veterans who fought in the most recent war, that are in their 20's just like me, that are now home and starting to adjust back to civilian life. I can only imagine how difficult that may be. That is why I wanted to bring attention to our veterans and those who are currently serving in our military, and I thought that now, seeing that the 4th of July is just around the corner, this was the best time to do so.
There is an organization called Military with PTSD. Military with PTSD is a 501c3 non-profit organization
dedicated to helping military and veteran families understand each other
and see it from both sides. I learned about them yesterday from reading an article about their current efforts to help bring awareness to the fact that something that we view as celebratory, can be extremely traumatic or harmful for a combat veteran. Fireworks. I cannot begin to understand what exactly living with PTSD is like for each individual, I think, just like every mental illness, it is something everyone experiences differently, but I know it is extremely traumatic. Military with PTSD's most recent campaign, Explosion of Kindness 2015 provides military families with free signs that read "Combat Veteran Lives Here, Please be Courteous with Fireworks" for a $10 donation, you can cover the cost of shipping a sign, and for a $5 donation you can give a veteran a free sign according to their website. I would like to encourage everyone to make a donation to Military with PTSD in order to help spread awareness about PTSD and our veterans.
As for 4th or July, please make sure you are being respectful of these signs and of our veterans and don't forget to always thank them and their families for their service.
Thank you again to all that you do to help keep us safe.
