Vessel| Alexandra Winder

You've been gone for 15 months. You didn't leave with your family, or even real friends. You went with a Unit. A thing designed by the Army for men and women that serve this country. You're a soldier, not meant to cry, but to fight. You're supposedly made of strong stuff, trained to kill, to save lives, to be a medic, but you look so alone. You're family lives to far away to come to Salt Lake to meet you. They're probably in Maine or Nebraska, missing their soldier, sad that they couldn't come see you, but their sadness doesn't match yours. You want to cry as you watch the rest of your unit greet their loved ones, as they're wrapped in warm arms. You stand alone, in your uniform and holding your bags instead of your mother as she cries. You ache for a hug from someone that cares. Your camo defies your feelings. It tells you that you must be strong, when all you really want to do is weep. You became a medic because you care about people, because you want to help them. Now who will help you? Who will welcome you home, on this, Veteran's Day?