Interview with Mike

I decided to interview my sister's boyfriend, his name is Mike Goolsby. The reason I choose to interview is how interesting of a life he has lived up to this point. Mike was a infantry man and was deployed in Afghanistan. He was honorably discharged after being hit by a road side bomb and still struggles with post traumatic stress disorder in his everyday life. Mike grew up in Texas on a military base, then moved to Alabama, and finally ended up in New Jersey. He attended Rutgers University Business School and graduated with a degree in finance. After, college he received a job offer from Bloomberg to be a financial analyst.

Introduction was brief with nothing noteworthy, just quickly chatted about present events like the Superbowl and Donald Trump.

Zach: What was it like growing up on a military base and what was the name?
Mike: The name of the military base was Fort Hood. Fort Hood was like a big town, but everybody worked on the military base. My Dad and Mother were both in the military so for me it was almost a right of passage to join. I kind of just felt like it was my duty seeing that my parents did it, living on the base made me realize at a young age that I was going to join the army.

Zach: What did being in the Army teach you?
Mike: The army really taught me how to be a leader. I lead my squad in Afghanistan, I need my fellow soldiers to be confident in my decision making. I have led people in situations where lives were at stake so now it is easy for me lead in everyday situations. Also the army taught me self-discipline, always pushing myself to get up in the morning or little situations each day.

Zach: Was it hard dealing with symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder?
Mike: Yes it was. At times it would definitely get on my nerves and bother me. I have definitely gotten by PTSD for the most part, but I often at times will have trouble with loud noises or surprises.

Zach: Were you injured from the bomb?
Mike: I made out very lucky, a lot luckier then some of the people with me. I was around the wall so fortunately I escaped with bruises and scrapes, but completely blew out my eardrums. The force of the bomb sent me to the ground and my ears were bleeding. I blacked out for a short period and remember waking up to another person in my platoon asking me if I was okay.

Zach: Did you enjoy your time at Rutgers and did you find it hard?
Mike: Rutgers was a great experience for me and was a lot harder then basic training (sarcastic tone). I like to think I have a good work ethic and refuse to let anything beat me so despite Rutgers being hard I always seem to overcome.

Zach: Was it different being older then most of your fellow students due to serving first?
Mike: It was a bit different, but everybody treated me the same. I am definitely a lot older then your average student, but I feel as if that was to my benefit. Being older I already knew who I was and what I wanted to do in life. I feel as if younger people are still trying to figure themselves out when I had plenty of time to do that already.

In closing I wish I could go into further detail about some of the stories Mike has told me because they are extremely interesting. I personally find Mike and his military experiences to be kind of eye opening and makes me really appreciate further who serves.