Alice's plan

For the past two weeks, I've been living with the pressure to join the marines. My dad argues with me every day and tells me that I'll never amount to anything here. He makes me feel as if joining the marines is my only choice. I don't know what to do. Today is the deadline for me. By the end of the day, I have to decide how I'm going to spend the rest of my life. My friends don't want me to go and I don't either. It scares me to think about going into the military. I hate the thought of it. Every morning, I wake up hoping to hear my dad say I don't have to go, but every day, I am disappointed. I would give anything to be able to show my dad that I can take care of myself without going into the marines. I'm terrified from the thought of coming back home in a casket. I don't want my dad to go through that. It almost brings me to tears thinking about all the people I would leave behind. I really hope I can make it through today without signing any papers. I don't want to sign my life away like this. I wish I had someone to talk to, somone who understands what its like to have a father that wants you to leave so bad. But I don't. Well, today is the deadline. I'm just hoping for the best at this point. I hope to still be here in a few months and not in the marines.