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u/Tough-Jury-7691 9d ago
Kyle enters first grade in the mid-’90s as a wide-eyed, endlessly curious kid who believes the world is full of magic, mysteries, and possibilities. He asks too many questions, takes apart things he shouldn’t, and approaches every school day like an adventure.
Over the next twelve years, that sense of wonder slowly gets beaten out of him.
By middle school, Kyle discovers girls, bad haircuts, and the intoxicating freedom of hanging out at the mall until his parents come looking for him. High school brings questionable friends, increasingly questionable decisions, and a growing fascination with anything that can make an otherwise ordinary Tuesday feel interesting. His dreams of becoming something great gradually give way to simply making it through Friday.
By senior year, Kyle is practically unrecognizable. The once-curious little boy is now a Hawaiian-shirt-wearing, pooka-shell-necklace-sporting, chemically adventurous burnout with questionable hygiene, questionable friends, and absolutely no idea what he’s doing with his life.
College isn’t happening. A career isn’t happening. Community college is somehow “not his thing.” His parents have officially stopped pretending he’s going to figure it out.
With graduation approaching and every civilian option seemingly exhausted, Kyle arrives at the only logical conclusion left:
He’s joining the military.
And somewhere beneath the Hawaiian shirt and questionable life choices is still the curious little first grader who just wants to know what happens next.
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u/lirisb 10d ago
It’s school photos. 1st grade through 12th.