All throughout high school, students hear about the importance of planning their futures. During your first year, you are told to wisely plan out the next four years of your life…or else. During sophomore year you are (hopefully) living out your pre-planned academic life and maintaining a solid 4.0 GPA. During junior year you’re scoring a 36 on the ACT and touring potential college choices. By senior year, you are getting a full-ride to the prestigious college of your choice, all while resisting senioritis. Although your counselors and parents expect this four-year plan of you, most students know it is unrealistic. School is hard, fun is the priority, and the future is frighteningly uncertain. So the question is: What is there to do for the undecided, slightly lazy student with little prospects of the future in mind?
2009 Bob Jones graduate, Wes Barlow is the living testimony of the answer to this question. Self-proclaimed as “privileged, lazy, and only hitting the minimum requirements” during high school, Wes was not the paradigm of a perfect student. Despite this, Wes can now be found trekking through rainforests, dwelling in lavish hotels, and travelling to hundreds of cities in over twenty countries.
Wes’ career in the Air Force as a Bioenvironmental Engineering Technician in Tokyo, Japan allows him to enjoy these luxuries, all while ensuring the health of millions and protecting the environment from destruction. On top of that, Wes is working on acquiring a nursing degree to supplement his military career.
As mentioned before, Wes Barlow was not always as ambitious and goal-oriented as he is now. When asked if any words of wisdom from Bob Jones have affected his ambition, he replied, “I think one of the most striking and influential things I heard from a teacher during my time at Bob Jones was, ‘The only way you are going accomplish anything is if you risk failure.’ It’s resonated most because when I’ve felt fear in the face of a great opportunity, it’s been my mantra. I think about what I’m most proud of in life now, and it isn’t the things that came easy, but the things that I risked being embarrassed for or risked being a flat out failure for.”
An indecisive start is not a definite end. Explore your options and don’t rule out something simply because you think “you’re not that kind of person.” What you rule out could be your best option.
To those considering the military Wes says this: “The best advice I can give to anyone thinking about joining the military is not to take anyone’s advice. Everyone has completely different experiences and nothing I could ever say or do will prepare you for yours. The expectations are in black and white, so if you think you can handle them (or able to work toward them), I say go for it. There is nothing that will blind side you about the military if you do the research and ask the right questions.”
