Perhaps this is appropriate during a week to celebrate American patriotism: Our nation’s heroes speak countless languages, ascribe to a rainbow of faiths, and wear badges bearing crosses, hydrants, serpents and swords. From veterans to warfighters, medics to firefighters to police officers, they stand vanguard over us — and how I wanted to stand among them! I dreamed of West Point as a boy, but without knowing where life would lead post-college, I instead vowed to respond if ever America needed me.

Not many people know this, but on September 11, 2001, I enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve. My country was crying, so I stood to fight, and more importantly, to help: I was training to be a Field Medic, but due to a disability I returned home earlier than expected. Things have worked out since then, but it’s not the future I planned.