WEBVTT

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(soft piano music)

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- I remember on the boat, I was seasick the entire time.

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^The water smelled and tasted like gasoline.

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I complained to my mom that I wanted to go home,

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because I wanted to drink water that

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didn't taste like gasoline, and she said

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"We could never go home, so just drink the water please."

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Considering the circumstances of why we were here,

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it was very good, I don't remember ever being hungry,

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we stood in long lines but I got plenty to eat.

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I remember people treating us well

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and I don't remember any bad experiences while I was here.

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I felt calm, I was outdoors more than any time

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I remembered in my young life.

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I remember playing outside a lot, playing Frisbee with

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this one other friend I made during the time we were here.

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And it just seemed very restful.

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As you know, life is tough and things will happen.

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And it's about your perspective of how you look at

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the experiences of your life, and you see

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the possible good in everything.

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That was actually a blessing in disguise

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because it really made me into a strong person.

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So I'm actually grateful for it.

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I have an enormous amount of gratitude

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to the men and women of the military.

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I think I would just want to end with saying

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that I'm very proud to call myself an American.

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(soft piano music)