Basic training

I just graduated Basic Training for the Army, and I want to share what it was like for me...
I look around me and all I see is suffering,
Some of us wondered why?
Why were we here?
Why did we have to do this?
My drill sergeants yell at me,
They are always pushing,
Always laughing,
Destroying any self confidence I have...
Yet time goes on,
The weeks pass, and people fail,
One girl feints, near death,
A man loses his wife,
Girlfriends cheat,
And time goes on,
I learn how to kill a man,
Somberly I shoot my rifle,
I learn to throw a grenade,
and time goes on,
At last the last week comes,
Graduation week,
We stand tall,
Having just become soldiers,
And we cry as we realize who we are,
A 20 Kilometer March couldn't beat us,
Our drill sergeants didn't destroy us,
And our brotherhood stood strong,
At last it came,
I finally get to see my family,
My baby brother looks at me with love,
My sister feels respect for me,
And my parents stand proud,
For I have made it through war,
And fought through hell,
I have been refined by blood, anger, and agony,
I have slept in the woods with creatures of the night crawling around me,
I have stood guard for four hours straight,
Watching for the enemy that will never come,
I have breeched buildings while getting shot at,
I became what few could ever do,
I AM AN AMERICAN SOLDIER!