"I think, like a lot of other people who have been in the service, you'd been delayed in what you were doing. You wanted to catch up and the best way to catch up was to move as fast as you could toward a degree"

Daniel J. Evans expresses a sentiment common among many individuals who have served in the armed forces, especially those whose personal and professional development was interrupted by their service. Military commitments often require men and women to pause their education or career ambitions. Upon completing their service, a sense of lost time or delay motivates them to accelerate their progress in civilian life. The desire to catch up becomes a driving force, channeling energy and focus into academic pursuits or other personal goals.

For Evans, the pursuit of a degree represents both a practical and symbolic endpoint, a concrete achievement that serves as a marker of progress and transition. Having been delayed by military obligations, the path to a degree seems like the most direct route to regaining lost ground. The urgency to move "as fast as you could" reveals an inner restlessness, perhaps even a sense of competition with peers who did not have to put their lives on hold. There is also the implication of responsibility, a need to make up for opportunities missed because of service to one’s country.

This sense of acceleration is not necessarily about impatience, but about a pragmatic realization that time is valuable. Veterans, having experienced the discipline and hardships of military life, often emerge with a heightened appreciation for structure and goal-setting. Their resilience and commitment manifest as an eagerness to reintegrate and thrive in academic or professional environments. The educational journey becomes more than just acquiring knowledge; it is a tangible act of self-restoration and advancement. By pursuing their degrees with determination and purpose, returning veterans like Evans seek to bridge the gap created by their absence, ensuring that their service adds to, rather than detracts from, their life narratives and future prospects.