I’ve always been an artistic soul, even in the Marines. Sometimes, while performing forced marches or any other repetitive task, I’d get lost in my own mind. I’d replace cadences with the obscure tones and lyrics of indie rock. Got to go to work. Got to go to work. Gotta have a job. I’d draw pictures of boot camp scenes and mail them to my friends. In Iraq, I’d stop my labors momentarily to look up and watch the moon. I’d write poetry on my cot about the night skies I had seen.
It’s art that helped me out when I suffered the challenges we all endure when coming home from combat. (You’ll hear all about those times later.) I returned to the states confused, depressed and heartbroken. I medicated myself with alcohol and raged against the world. Some of my friends had died, and I was fine. No scratches or scars from battle, no lost limbs or senses. I couldn’t understand my fortune. I couldn’t find a reason in being alive, so I wanted to die too.
I wrote a book instead of taking my own life. That unpublished (hopefully, soon-to-be published) memoir still makes up a large part of my existence. Writing gave me clarity from the confusion and helped me receive a return to the peace I had been seeking. I got out of the Corps and went to college and now I’m a graduate creative writing student at Johns Hopkins University. I keep learning everyday that the civilian world is infinitely tougher than I imagined it would be, and I keep learning that even though I’ve been home from my second deployment for almost six years, the wounds of war never truly go away.
That’s okay, though. There’s no greater wisdom than the knowledge gained from experiences. Veterans are fortunate in this way. When we can come home and beat the mental and physical struggles of our tours, we can have meaningful spirits that truly appreciate the blessings of life.
I’ll lend my words out hoping they’ll find you – and I’ll hope to find my own purpose too.
Join the conversation.
Much love,
Dario DiBattista
Connect with Dario online:
Personal Website (Free Writing, Podcast, Dario in the Media, Biography, Books, Blogs)
20 Something Magazine (Editor-in-Chief, Creator)
JMWW Literary Journal (Senior Nonfiction Editor)
The Veterans Writing Project (Instructor, Nonfiction Editor)
LinkedIn (Professional Stuff)
Facebook (Be my friend?)
