MUSKOGEE, Okla. (AP) — Two things have long weighed on Jessica Steward's heart — serving her country and sharing her emotions.

She said she had wanted to be in the military for as long as she could remember.

"This is my country, I'm supposed to defend it," she told the Muskogee Phoenix .

Steward got involved in the ROTC her freshman year at Muskogee High School. She joined the Army National Guard after graduating from MHS.

She served twice in Iraq before she was discharged in 2009. She continues to help veterans by working at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Steward shares her feelings thro...