EVAC PROJECT
  • Home
  • About
  • Portfolio
    • View All
    • By War Era >
      • World War II
      • Korean War
      • Vietnam War
      • Peacetime
      • Desert Storm
      • Iraq/ Afghanistan
      • Virtual Exhibition Women in the Military
  • CATALOG
  • Letters of Support
  • EVAC Project Vitae
  • News
  • Contact
Website
Jonpaul Smith
Vitae
Picture
"Heart of it All", 19" x 14 1/2", Relief, 2020
​Marisol, Navy, 2001-2009

I was very sheltered in my little Arizona lifestyle so after boot camp I realized that America is made up of more people than Arizona and Mexico. [In the Navy] I was able to see diversity within the United States and I became more inclusive of other people and ideas. I grew up in a traditional Latino family, and everything I have now, including my friendships, including the material things I own, have come from the Navy. My personality has changed tremendously because of the service. I was a very shy person before, and I didn’t really interact with people. I can’t even begin to express how much it’s given me. It’s given me love, it’s given me my husband, I met him there, it’s given me my greatest friends, it’s given me the opportunity to go to school without having to pay. The military gave me the opportunity to have a great future and give that to my family.  It taught me about what being a true friend is and how to be a good person. I’m just really grateful. It’s a lifelong thing. It’s not something you just go through. It’s something you carry with you the rest of your life.

The reason I left the service is because I knew that eventually I wanted to start a family, and I wasn’t ready to move around a lot with little kids. I knew my limits, and my limit was I wasn’t willing to give up my kids to go on deployment. I guess I wasn’t that strong or that brave. I just didn’t want to have to go through that. I saw how other women suffered when their kids weren’t around, and they were constantly worrying about their children. I wanted to give my part of being a parent a solid try, just try and do the best I could do at being a mom. I admitted to myself that was a weakness I wouldn’t be able to surpass as a soldier. I’d rather deal with it the civilian way and give my kids a shot rather than being worried about them all the time.
Using storytelling and art, EVAC bridges the gap between civilians and veterans by educating the public about life in the military.

Home

About

Portfolio

​Catalog

 Support

Contact

Copyright © 2017
  • Home
  • About
  • Portfolio
    • View All
    • By War Era >
      • World War II
      • Korean War
      • Vietnam War
      • Peacetime
      • Desert Storm
      • Iraq/ Afghanistan
      • Virtual Exhibition Women in the Military
  • CATALOG
  • Letters of Support
  • EVAC Project Vitae
  • News
  • Contact