LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – A Lubbock high schooler will forgo his graduation for a different stage: Marine boot camp.
Cody Durham is a hopeful U.S. Marine who signed up for boot camp in June. When a spot opened up this month, though, he was called to service faster than anticipated.
“It didn’t really hit me until about three hours later. I’m doing it, I’m ready, oh this is real and I’m actually leaving,” Durham said.
It was news that, while exciting, was a difficult pill to swallow for Durham’s family.
“He called me up Monday and said, ‘Hey mom, what would you think about me leaving Sunday?’” Chelsi Lewis, Cody’s mother, said. “Ultimately it’s his decision and I told him I’d have his back no matter what.”
The new departure date means Cody will not walk his high school graduation stage.
“I’m going to get to graduate from boot camp, which is a lot better in my opinion,” Durham said.
To make up for that, Chelsi decided to try and schedule senior pictures with just six days’ notice.
She posted to Facebook in hopes of finding a photographer. What she got instead was hundreds of comments and messages offering her support.
“It was a huge, unexpected thing but to have all of the love and support… I’m reading through the comments crying,” Lewis said. “It was so meaningful.”
Lewis says that same community support has made the unexpected news easier to bear.
“There are so many people out there who you wouldn’t think would understand what you’re going through, yet there are so many that have their own stories,” Lewis said. “They’re just willing to be there for you and offer a shoulder to cry on if you need to.”
Durham will go to boot camp for 12 weeks, return to Lubbock for 10 days, and then leave again. Despite the timeline, the family says they wouldn’t change a thing.
“It’s a great decision,” Durham said. “I don’t regret a single minute.”
“I’m sad but I’m happy and I’m so proud of him,” Lewis said.
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