justsomecadet
Member
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2023
- Messages
- 16
This post is something that's been floating around in my head for a while, but I haven't had the chance to share it. I wanted to put it out here to give a slightly different perspective on the Academy.
I used this forum obsessively under a different account as a candidate. These days (two years from my I-day), I log on every now and then when I don't want to do homework. One thing I've noticed is that nearly every perspective on here are those of parents and "old grads." The former see a distorted version of USAFA, and the latter have a distinctly rose tinted view of the experience, at least when giving advice to candidates. I want to say that I don't think these views (the grads at least) have it wrong. Without a doubt, grads have wisdom and relevant experience that cadets don't. I, unlike many here, believe the experience makes you better. However, that fact is often obscured behind the day to day drudgery of USAFA. Neither the parents or the grads are wrong, but they represent different perspectives on USAFA, neither of which will be lived by a candidate for many years. The realest, most immediate experience a candidate will have is that of a cadet. Here are a few thoughts from that experience.
The first misconception is about who goes to USAFA. As candidates, we have this image that cadets are rule-following, hard working, motivated, kind and caring. We're all honest, we manage our time well, and we get to do incredible things all the time. This is true for some of us. Not so much for others. Like any school, cadets span a broad spectrum of kindness, honesty, and dedication. There are the genuinely amazing people, who embody everything we learn about cadets. They are highly ranked, get great grades, work out, do research and pursue extracurriculars. On the other end of the spectrum are the "2.0 and go" crowd. Many of them do a bare minimum, play a lot of video games, party hard, or just generally slack. They generally don't get their top choices for programs like airmanship or ops AF. The majority, though, are regular people who primarily exist as some combination of the extremes. They're satisfied with a certain performance level, and not willing to sacrifice socializing or other recreation for a better class rank.
The key is that a person's place along this spectrum has no bearing on whether they're a "good person." Some of the highest achieving cadets are snakes who will do anything to add something to their resume. Some cadets on the edge of disenrollment are the most genuine and caring people I've met. There are people throughout the class, ranked high and low, who lie and cheat (and to a lesser degree, steal). On the same note, there are good cadets who don't always follow the rules. I've made mistakes that could put me on probation or get me kicked out. I've done other things with the same punishments that I stand by. Nevertheless, most people would consider me a good cadet. On the flip side, there are bad cadets who never break a major rule. There are bad people who are good cadets according to the standards the Academy sets. As far as I see it, if you are passionate about your people (classmates and subordinates) and your mission (to graduate and bring value to the AF), and you're smart about the liberties you take, you can deviate from rules quite a bit and still be a successful, good person.
The second piece that I'd like to share is about the cadet experience. Thanks to the media team, the public primarily sees cadets from a far, marching in a parade, crawling through the mud, watching a flyover, or working on an expensive looking lab machine. These, even the mud, are some of the best parts of the cadet experience. You don't see the bitter complaints about having to march through six inches of snow to put on a parade with 10 spectators. You don't see the problem set that is due the same day as two essays and a test. When grads and parents talk about it being "hard," candidates imagine that it's hard because you have to do pushups, or because you're busy doing all these cool things. That's not true. It's hard because you don't want to be there. It's hard because your next 5 days are packed with due dates, tests, and mandatory events that feel like a waste of your time. It's hard because sometimes, when you look at your schedule, you feel suffocated. You feel trapped. You just want to take a nap, but you can't because of that essay you haven't written. It's hard because it feels like leadership and the AOG spends more time and money making this place look good to candidates and athletic recruits than they do solving the problems cadets face.
Don't get me wrong--on average, I love it here. When the sun rises and lights up the mountains, it's magical. If you pick a major you enjoy, some of the classes can be awesome. If you help foster it, a squadron can be an amazing family you won't get at any other school.
Some people will swear they wouldn't be here if they could afford to go somewhere else. My family could have afforded any school I got into. I've put a lot of thought into whether I'd be happier at another school, and ultimately decided that I would not.
My defining takeaway from the Academy so far is that it will be what you make it. That's a tired cliché, but it rings true. The Academy gives you nothing if you do not take it. It doesn't make you a good person. It doesn't make you smarter. The Academy does not improve you, you improve you. If you want to be happy, you need to put in constant effort managing your time, your mindset, and your expectations. You need to realize that the USAFA you see from the media team is not the USAFA you will live for four years. It is not a panacea that will solve the problems in your life. It is a school and the beginning of a career. If you want to fix yourself, it will be you doing the fixing, not USAFA.
This is just my opinion from my relatively short time here. I'm sure that once I graduate and eventually become an "old grad" myself, the cynicism will fade and I'll have much more wisdom about the benefits from the Academy. For now though, I thought it might be worth the time to share a perspective from the trenches of cadet life.
I used this forum obsessively under a different account as a candidate. These days (two years from my I-day), I log on every now and then when I don't want to do homework. One thing I've noticed is that nearly every perspective on here are those of parents and "old grads." The former see a distorted version of USAFA, and the latter have a distinctly rose tinted view of the experience, at least when giving advice to candidates. I want to say that I don't think these views (the grads at least) have it wrong. Without a doubt, grads have wisdom and relevant experience that cadets don't. I, unlike many here, believe the experience makes you better. However, that fact is often obscured behind the day to day drudgery of USAFA. Neither the parents or the grads are wrong, but they represent different perspectives on USAFA, neither of which will be lived by a candidate for many years. The realest, most immediate experience a candidate will have is that of a cadet. Here are a few thoughts from that experience.
The first misconception is about who goes to USAFA. As candidates, we have this image that cadets are rule-following, hard working, motivated, kind and caring. We're all honest, we manage our time well, and we get to do incredible things all the time. This is true for some of us. Not so much for others. Like any school, cadets span a broad spectrum of kindness, honesty, and dedication. There are the genuinely amazing people, who embody everything we learn about cadets. They are highly ranked, get great grades, work out, do research and pursue extracurriculars. On the other end of the spectrum are the "2.0 and go" crowd. Many of them do a bare minimum, play a lot of video games, party hard, or just generally slack. They generally don't get their top choices for programs like airmanship or ops AF. The majority, though, are regular people who primarily exist as some combination of the extremes. They're satisfied with a certain performance level, and not willing to sacrifice socializing or other recreation for a better class rank.
The key is that a person's place along this spectrum has no bearing on whether they're a "good person." Some of the highest achieving cadets are snakes who will do anything to add something to their resume. Some cadets on the edge of disenrollment are the most genuine and caring people I've met. There are people throughout the class, ranked high and low, who lie and cheat (and to a lesser degree, steal). On the same note, there are good cadets who don't always follow the rules. I've made mistakes that could put me on probation or get me kicked out. I've done other things with the same punishments that I stand by. Nevertheless, most people would consider me a good cadet. On the flip side, there are bad cadets who never break a major rule. There are bad people who are good cadets according to the standards the Academy sets. As far as I see it, if you are passionate about your people (classmates and subordinates) and your mission (to graduate and bring value to the AF), and you're smart about the liberties you take, you can deviate from rules quite a bit and still be a successful, good person.
The second piece that I'd like to share is about the cadet experience. Thanks to the media team, the public primarily sees cadets from a far, marching in a parade, crawling through the mud, watching a flyover, or working on an expensive looking lab machine. These, even the mud, are some of the best parts of the cadet experience. You don't see the bitter complaints about having to march through six inches of snow to put on a parade with 10 spectators. You don't see the problem set that is due the same day as two essays and a test. When grads and parents talk about it being "hard," candidates imagine that it's hard because you have to do pushups, or because you're busy doing all these cool things. That's not true. It's hard because you don't want to be there. It's hard because your next 5 days are packed with due dates, tests, and mandatory events that feel like a waste of your time. It's hard because sometimes, when you look at your schedule, you feel suffocated. You feel trapped. You just want to take a nap, but you can't because of that essay you haven't written. It's hard because it feels like leadership and the AOG spends more time and money making this place look good to candidates and athletic recruits than they do solving the problems cadets face.
Don't get me wrong--on average, I love it here. When the sun rises and lights up the mountains, it's magical. If you pick a major you enjoy, some of the classes can be awesome. If you help foster it, a squadron can be an amazing family you won't get at any other school.
Some people will swear they wouldn't be here if they could afford to go somewhere else. My family could have afforded any school I got into. I've put a lot of thought into whether I'd be happier at another school, and ultimately decided that I would not.
My defining takeaway from the Academy so far is that it will be what you make it. That's a tired cliché, but it rings true. The Academy gives you nothing if you do not take it. It doesn't make you a good person. It doesn't make you smarter. The Academy does not improve you, you improve you. If you want to be happy, you need to put in constant effort managing your time, your mindset, and your expectations. You need to realize that the USAFA you see from the media team is not the USAFA you will live for four years. It is not a panacea that will solve the problems in your life. It is a school and the beginning of a career. If you want to fix yourself, it will be you doing the fixing, not USAFA.
This is just my opinion from my relatively short time here. I'm sure that once I graduate and eventually become an "old grad" myself, the cynicism will fade and I'll have much more wisdom about the benefits from the Academy. For now though, I thought it might be worth the time to share a perspective from the trenches of cadet life.
