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The Steve Chronicles; The life story of Steven R Hopkins from the eleventh of November 1978 'till now. Conceived, Created and Illustrated by John Hopkins and Dawn Leonard. Special thanks to Greg Tripp for guidance in layout. And to extended family members and friends for concept and design.
I was born in California and lived there long enough to remember nothing of it. I have a fleeting memory of a park I used to play in and an eccentric old gentleman on his riding lawnmower in Oregon, were I lived until the age of four. For the most part my memory starts when my mother and I reached the sunny state of Arizona. A state like no other, a state that was founded by thrill takers and fortune seekers. What’s its state tree you ask? I answer, The Palo Verde. And what is its state bird? I reply, The Cactus Wren. It's a land filled with the rich colors of brown and green. I didn't like it much there until I left it. I realized despite the summer months, averaging near 120 degrees, it’s quit nice there. I now live on the east coast in the culture and humidity rich state of Virginia. It takes some getting used to, but it’s not that bad now.
As an only child until the age of fifteen, raised be my single mother and grandparents, and gifted with the over active imagination that children are known for, I had a great ability to entertain myself. I was a good student until I learned teachers tortured their students by giving them mentally challenging material to be completed on the student’s free time. They called this weapon 'homework.' I rebelled grasping for my free time. I lasted until my senior year of high school. When I dropped out.
I was forced to get a job. I found work at a close by Petco were I enjoyed working with animals. I left the job when my duties expanded to include the reptile department. I didn’t like most of those teeth baring bastards and most of them didn’t like me, especially the ones that bark as loud as a dog yet could fit in the palm of your hand, if it weren’t for the fact that they would latch on to it! I moved on to bigger and better things when I worked at Photomark. I worked there for seven months and left as assistant manager, never mind the fact that only two people worked at the store it was a big feet for me. During this time I rented a modest room close to the family room. I liked the location because it was down the hall from the kitchen. The neighbors seemed to mettle in my business a bit to much, but they later helped me through a semester of college so I guess they weren't that bad after all. I had a seven-mile commute to negotiate, so I set off car shopping. I settled on a 1997 18 speed off road Rock Hopper, I obtained a loan through my neighbors bank the Mom & Step Dad Trust and Found. They had great rates and extremely flexible payment plans. Now that I look back on it my neighbors weren't bad at all.
I went back to school expecting college to be
different. It was, for a while. I attended Yavapai Community College in Prescott, AZ. It was a small campus but one of the only community colleges with dorms. My goal was to spend a couple of years there before heading even further north to Northern Arizona University, which has an absolutely beautiful campus. I wanted to get far enough away from my parents that I felt like I was exploring, and on my own. I believe it’s a common feeling among young adults to take a spiritual journey and for a lot of us it means exploring the world past our hometowns. I signed up for a fifteen credit hour semester. Six credit hours later I found myself visiting home one last time before I headed off to Boot Camp in beautiful pleasant Ft. Benning, Georgia. Why you ask? I believe I was still on my quest to find the adult me. The question, however, ran through my head about ten times a day during basic training and has trailed down to about twice a day now. My attitude towards the military has changed a lot from the beginning. It’s been a variable Roller coaster as I look back; once you make it through the first couple of years, were you feel like you have no say in what happens around you, it gets a lot better.
I don’t regret my decision. They have great benefits while you’re enlisted, and Veterans Affairs has been seriously revamped to give you a lot of benefits after separation. The Montgomery GI Bill and Army Advanced College Fund is steadily increased to comply with the rising cost of living, and college expenses. Further more they offer enlistment bonuses, and job skills training through technical training. They have also helped me to appreciate the simple things in life. Such as heat, being dry, being full, and working with intelligent people. There are intelligent people in the Army, but just like any other job it has its share of the non-genius type. I served a three year active duty tour at Ft. Myer in Virginia as part of Hotel Company in The 3rd US Infantry. I was a member of The Presidential Salute Battery in The Old Guard. We fired canons for dignitaries, ceremonies, and full honors funerals. I worked my way through all the positions on the gun line, and when I left I was the primary backup gunner. You can find out more about the specific duties of each position on The Old Guard Home page.
I’m now serving a five-year contract in The Maryland National Guard. I’m part of Charley Company, 2nd battalion of the 224 Aviation Assault Group. I reclassified, changed my job, to 33W, which is an Electronics Warfare Technician. I’ll be going to school at Fort Huachuca, Arizona for forty-three weeks to learn all about helicopter electronics. Check out the various military links on my Links page. When I get back I plan to attend The University of Maryland full time. I’m thinking of getting an engineering degree either in electronics, or software. Who knows?
Well anyways, that’s me in a nutshell. I’m glad you took the time to listen to my story. I’d love to hear your feedback, and if you got a page you’d like for me to check out I would be honored to look it over. If you’ve been thinking about joining the Army I’d be happy to answer any question you might have. You can get an insiders point of view without worrying if the recruiter is lying to you. Until next time my friends…
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