As a child, the only thing I knew about my father’s job was that he flew airplanes. That concept was easy enough for me to grasp; I had seen him pull dives and turn corkscrews in stunt planes. In my mind, the only thing that differentiated my father’s airshows from his military service was the size and location of the aircraft. The one other thing I knew about my father’s job was that he loved it; it didn’t matter whether he was flying helicopters for the Marines, running drills as part of the Air National Guard, or working as a contractor for the Army. He once remarked that he should fly helicopters for the coast guard so he could collect the whole set. The only thing that mattered to him was being in the air. My father would have lived his entire life without ever touching the ground if given the chance. Standing on the rubber tire mulch of the playground, I would stare up at the C-130s that cut across the sky. I thought my father was in every single one, even when I knew he was six thousand miles away and tens of thousands of feet above some desert. I was too young to conceive of such numbers; ten minutes of quiet time in class felt like hours of boredom, so how big was the number six thousand? In the times my father was home, he told stories about people he had met and places he had seen. The more he spoke, the more I wanted to see the world; I wanted friends in every state and overseas. I did not want to fly airplanes. I have never piloted a plane, and I have no plans to do so. I can accept that my father’s approach to public service is not the approach I must take. I cannot turn corkscrews in the air, but I can turn my father’s memories into stories. I can commit myself to the exchange of American arts and culture on a global scale through work with institutions like the Foreign Service. The Foreign Service sponsors a number of educational and cultural exchange programs and represents Americans abroad. As a student of both English and Spanish, I hope to use my cultural knowledge and communication skills to promote intercultural dialogue around issues of democracy, education, and free expression. Veterans have sacrificed so much of themselves; they have given up pieces of their bodies and minds that can never be replaced. If complete reparation is impossible, I can at least attempt memorialization through the preservation of veterans’ stories and values. My father flew airplanes; I will take flights to and from other countries in coach. I will live my entire life grounded in my culture, my family, and my history.