the last spring break
12:19 pm
I just got back from my senior year spring break that I spent in Charleston, SC and it amazes me just how fast time has gone by here. Your first year or two it feels like time is crawling, but this past year has flown. They do a very good job of keeping your mind preoccupied with other things to think about while you are here, so the days go by slow, but the weeks and months go by fast. You don't really have much time to focus too far ahead, since everything you're doing is due the next day or the day after. Today marks two months until graduation, so I have fewer months until I graduate than the Yuks have years until they do, and that's a glorious feeling. I once had a teacher tell me "graduation was the happiest day of my life, but don't tell that to my wife or two children".
Now that the weather is changing for the better, we start seeing the growing number of tourists and candidates start showing up. They room the candidates with plebes for a day or two, even though the west point they see for 2 days is from the viewpoint of your worst year here, they never really see how much better it gets as they gradually treat you more and more like responsible human beings. This is the first time I came back after spring break and there was no snow on the ground, so if you like playing in the snow, relax, you'll have a good 5-6 months to do so every year. Global warming hasn't quite affected west point just yet.
I am already done with my senior project. I could ride out the semester with my 6 classes (2 of which aren't really classes, they're just there to give you time to work on your senior project) so it's more like 4 classes. So instead of chilling back and coasting until graduation, I decided to volunteer to be the cadet in charge of the cyber defense side of being a computer science major and volunteering to go to additional courses for hacking and network security. Don't ask me why, I wish I knew.
I had a candidate ask me today why I came to west point, and he went into reasons why he wants to come here. Fed me the whole "I want to succeed and be an officer and lead soldiers in combat and be the best I can be and yaddayadda-a whole bunch of stuff he knows nothing about. Don't worry about why you want to come here and if it's for the wrong reasons. You will VERY QUICKLY find out if you did, and either your reasons will change, or you won't be here anymore. The reason you choose to go here is different than the reason you stay here. You won't understand that for a few years, but spending your high school years being a wrestler and a boy scout doesn't give you enough life experience to haul off and understand what it means when you say "I want to lead America's sons and daughters in combat". Know what you're getting into, but don't get obsessed with where you're going.
If you aren't in yet, focus on getting in.
If you already got in, focus on getting in shape and enjoying your last semester of high school. You'll miss it down the road.
Questions / comments? Send them.
November 24th, 2008
Beast - Some Suggestions
8:05 am
Personally, I had no idea what I was getting into when I showed up on R-day. The fact that I got accepted here just floored me. Coming from a school with a majority of the graduating class going into the work force through the future farmers of America club, I was now amongst guys and gals who turned down rides to Ivy League schools to go to West Point. I was expecting to be yelled at and criticized constantly, but it's nothing what you expect. I had friends who went through basic training, I saw Full Metal Jacket, and the cadets are just like drill instructors right? Wrong. I wish all they did was yell obscenities and make me do pushups, but overarching rules and regulations prevent that, so they find other ways of weeding people out. A few calm spoken, pointed sentences can strike home much more than screaming at you can. So understand that's much more mental than it is physical.
That being said, physical shape is one of the most important aspects of life up here. It was pouring rain today, not exactly warm outside either, but I saw no less than a dozen people going for 3+ mile runs regardless. Few things earn you instant credibility, in the eyes of your subordinates and commanders. Physical shape is one of those things. Being physically fit is a job requirement for soldiers, literally. There are bi-annual physical fitness tests consisting of pushups, sit-ups, and a 2 mile run. Beast is going to be mentally tough enough as it is, you don't need physical stresses to add to it. Show up in a decent level of shape. Stop smoking, stop drinking, eat a lot, do pushups every day, do sit-ups every day, run at least 3 times a week. Make sure you pre-buy a pair or two of boots and wear them in for a month or so prior to arrival, the last thing you want is to break in a set of boots on a ruck march. Don't bother bringing Oakley super-boots or anything high-speed, they won't let you use them.
November 21st, 2008
About Myself
7:14 am
I was born in Connecticut, raised partly in Puerto Rico and partly in North Carolina, but I call NC home. My acceptance into west point was nothing short of a miracle. I came from a middle-of-nowhere high school where I wrestled for most of my time there. My father works for IBM, so I've been tinkering with computers since an early age, which led to me taking every computer class possible in high school, and eventually becoming a Computer Science major here at USMA. If I hadn't come to USMA, I would probably have gone to UNC or NC State, depending on how much each would cost and the majors and opportunities they offered.