This is my first blog post after being asked repeatedly for many years by many friends to start one. I'll just start by saying who I am which I am finding very difficult because I don't know where to start. There is so much to explain and say so i'll just jump right into it. My name is Sebastian Ventling and I am from Los Angeles California. I am a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles. I studied Italian Studies and was also awarded two minors in; Germanic Languages and Scandinavian Studies. One of the things that people find quite interesting about me is the amount of foreign languages I speak and how much I have travelled. I have always been fascinated with the study and usage of language. I can remember when I was a freshman in high school I took my very first French class. After the first lesson, my heart was beating fast and I was dying to know and learn more. I had found a subject that I was not only good at but really truly enjoyed. That same day I went to our school library and checked out three dictionaries; one in French, Spanish and German. I can remember sitting in my bedroom that night trying to read and pronounce the words that interested me so greatly. I recall that same night I spoke with my mom on the phone and tried to read to here many of the new words I was trying to learn. She encouraged my greatly and told me never to give up on my dream of learning and speaking these languages. Looking back now it seems almost comical to me. I can only imagine how horrific my pronunciation must have been. At 14 years old I told "friends" at school and even teachers that I would one day travel and see the world. I told them that I would walk the streets of Paris and speak French. I told them that I would stand before the Colosseum in Rome and admire its beauty. Of course my many claims were met with laughter and cynicism. I was mocked and belittled and seen as a clown by many at my high school and known as one not to be taken seriously. Teachers looked upon me with pity, assuming that they would one day see me flipping their burgers at Burger King or rolling their burritos at Taco Bell. I remember being fiercely frustrated by their evilness and jealousy. I couldn't wait to leave that place. I often spent many nights wondering why God placed me in such a place. Was it his will that I spend many years of my adolescence here? Why did he call my father to move here? These are the types of questions that were often on my mind. The truth is that only in my mind could I find solace from their cruelty. When met with their questions, I had only one response, "I don't know." How will you get to Paris? How will you pay for the ticket? Where will you live when you are there? How will you learn French? Do you really think you can learn so many languages in such a short time? Do you think you are a genius or something? My response of "I don't know" only re-enforced their doubts about my future. How could someone accomplish so much without a specific plans, they no doubt wondered. They say a young man before them from a small home headed by a single dad who was working two jobs to make ends meet. What they didn't realize though at that time while ridiculing me and making me out to be a fool is that I didn't trust in my own abilities or my own knowledge. I never have and I never will for that matter, even now. What they couldn't realize is that God had a plan for me and that I was chosen by him to complete a mission. I knew not what the mission was yet I was sure that it was my time to leave that place. I knew that God had much to teach me even if I wasn't sure what it was or where it would take me. I had faith. Faith, the only thing a young person needs to make his tomorrow better than his today. That's what I had as I took a major step in my life. On January 5th 2005, I joined the California Army National Guard as a 31B military policeman. My family had what I am proud to call a military tradition. My father and Uncle were both sergeants in the army during the Vietnam War and my grandpa, Miles Ventling, as well as my great uncle Cal Ventling served in World War II and Korea. My grandpa earned great distinction and was even awarded the bronze star and purple heart. I grew up seeing their pictures and hearing their stories and dreamt of serving my country as they did. My father has always been my hero. I have loved him unconditionally since the day I first laid eyes on him many years ago when I was born. So it is no wonder why I was eager to join. When I took my oath, the pride I felt is difficult to describe. I was also ridiculed for this decision in the lovely town of Visalia, California. I was laughed at and told in front of many that I would die in Iraq or Afghanistan. "This is how he is going to look in his coffin," they yelled, while even the teachers laughed. It is hard to believe that one may be ridiculed for wanting to serve one's country, yet that is how it was. I was told that I was enlisting to be a pawn and a tool for George Bush and his oil war. However, even in the face of this persecution, I still felt so proud to wear my uniform and did so as often as I could. I graduated from Golden West High School on June 24th, 2005 and I left for U.S. Army basic training at 11 p.m. that same night. I said bye to my father, sister, brother and friends that night and got on a bus for Sacramento where I caught a flight to Ft. Leonard wood, Missouri. I will continue this on my next entry.....
