She is a freelance writer based in Seattle, and is working on a book based on her experiences in the military. (CNN) Two days after 9/11, I watched as the news continued to replay images of steel towers crumbling in flames. I looked at the screen from my perch at the hostess stand of a swanky Italian restaurant in downtown Chicago, where I worked. But joining the military provided me with much more than tuition assistance. Friends who I would have never made outside the military taught me new ideas, shared their food and music, opened up their hearts and had my back when we deployed to Iraq.

Source: CNN September 10, 2017 20:03 UTC