A Look Back at 1995: A Year That Was Both Ordinary and Extraordinary

1995 was a pivotal year for many, especially for those coming of age or entering adulthood. For me, it was a mix of both the ordinary and the extraordinary. At the age of 18, I was studying classical guitar in Madrid, Spain, during a time when Britpop was reaching its peak. However, Bj?rk had yet to deliver a follow-up album that lived up to the standards set by her debut.

The Year of Decision (And Some Marriage)

While I was beyond the typical childhood and teenage years, I marked the year of my transformation when I joined the army. After basic training and a lengthy AIT (Advanced Individual Training), I spent several months living in barracks stateside. On a fateful day, I met a young woman. Weeks later, after only 13 days of knowing each other, we became partners for life. However, this union awaited until 1996, almost a full year after my service began.

Looking back, I had no idea that my future would include marriage and homeownership. I was convinced that I would either be in combat overseas or face some dramatic life-changing event. Instead, my daily life in the army revolved around hanging out in the barracks, playing Super Nintendo, or watching TV. My airborne training consisted of jumping about once a month, while my job in communications was largely idle, involving just a couple of hours of setup and virtually no actual work related to my training.

Zooming into Marital Bliss and Adversity

The mundane lifestyle of 1995 was surprisingly satisfying. This comfort was amplified when I decided to take a break from the army and go AWOL (Absent Without Leave). I traveled across the country with a young woman and very little else but camping supplies, a truck we had stopped paying for, and plenty of food. It was a bold and somewhat reckless decision, but one that my families believed was foolhardy and impractical.