Tuesday, September 3, 2013

The Beginning of the End

As a civilian, I took everything I had for granted and my time during New Cadet Week taught me that life is hell, but you learn to life with it. During this week of basic training, I learned a few things about myself that I probably would've never known unless I joined the Corp of Cadets. One, I lacked the discipline that I needed to become a military officer. Two, I was so much weaker mentally, physically, and emotionally than I had originally thought. Three, I learned that life isn't all about games, and that you have to work really hard to get maybe a few minutes out of the day to rest, relax, and think about what just happened. Four, I needed to learn to come out of my shell and stop working as an individual all the time, I needed to start working as a team with my buds. These invaluable lessons will be forever engraved into my mind and won’t be easily forgotten. The real part of this awfully dreaded beginning of my life began on August 17th, 2013.
I didn't sleep very well the night of the 16th, which would become the last real night of me being individualistic and sheltered. As the night progressed, random thoughts kept popping in my head about what to expect out of this new week, let alone my new military life. I kept tossing and turning and finally fell asleep somewhere in the early hours of the morning and woke up to my brother shaking me like a ragdoll. I got up, very tired, and decided to start my day with a nice, hot, relaxing shower that I realized later on was the best shower I had taken before entering the Corp of Cadets. After packing my things and some early tears from my mom in the hotel room, we hit the road and showed up at Brodie Hall, which was the drop-off point for our belongings. I was then told to go to Torgerson Hall to start the transformation process of becoming a new cadet, with my pops, mom, and brother unpacking my things at the car. Tears were streaming down her face as her son was walking away, going to start a new life, she couldn't have been more proud of what I was doing that day. Inside Torgerson Hall, I was directed to where I was supposed to go, waited in lines, took some tests, and received some “essential materials” for New Cadet Week. This was only the beginning of what was to become the best, worst week of my life to ever have been experienced in my lifetime.
I finally met up with my parents with my “Highspeed” haircut and started unpacking the room and my belongings. After an hour of clutter and mess, we finally got the room set, we then decided to have the last supper at D2 dining facility. I walked back to my room with my parents, told them goodbye and started training immediately after that to show our parents what we could learn in a few hours. After some hours of training, we went outside of Brodie Hall and formed up, performed a few of the actions we learned, and then dragged back into Brodie without being able to say goodbye to our parents. As I was dragging into Brodie, I had one last look at my parents and my brother and saw my pops proud face, my mom’s crying face, and my brother playing his DSI. Stay tuned for the next blog on how I survived New Cadet Week.

4 comments:

  1. Wow, that is a crazy first week! As a civilian, my fist week was calm and relaxed and I had plenty of time to say my goodbyes. I give tours to perspective students here and I speak very highly of the Corps and everything you stand for. I love getting to football games early just so I can watch you all walk out on to the field. I just want to rub it in the other team's face that we have such a wonderful program and they don't. Keep you head up and keep a positive attitude and you'll be fine.

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  2. I second Pearcy, definitely sounds like a crazy week! But despite the whirlwind type atmosphere it really sounds like you have been able to take some time and reflect on your past, and even current situation. I think the Corps is so interesting and I will definitely stay tuned in order to live vicariously through you! Your pain is our gain! Just kidding, but keep up your positive attitude and I'm sure you will learn lots more about yourself!!

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  3. First off, I can't wait to read your next blogs. As Professor Sanders has said many times over, we civilians find the life of a Cadet absolutely fascinating and we're very interested in hearing about it. Second, as you said you saw the proud face your father held as you were being taken back into Brodie, I hope you understand that most of the Virginia Tech community and I can spot a Cadet from across the Drillfield and have instant respect for the man/woman in uniform. Regardless of who is under the hat, I know that they are giving up their free time to lead a more structured and disciplined lifestyle than I've chosen. Much respect to you and the entire Corps. I'm sure you'll be pleased with how much you've changed by the end of the year.

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  4. Wow, It's nice to read your thoughts about the preparation/ struggles and realizations you have already experienced. Being your parents, we tried to give you what you needed to get the ball rolling, the path you will follow is now in your hands. Please realize you are not alone, and we are always here for you. We are extremely proud of you and the decision you made to join the Corp of Cadets. Not only will you be challenged with the workload of being a college student, but now you are learning how to become a fantastic leader too! We are also proud of your accomplishments we've seen in such a short period of time. Keep your head up and be proud of who you are becoming. Looking forward to reading your next blog.

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