Able to find balance during USNA?

Getting back to jomass and the original post,"... when do you get to be well rounded...", I would say to think of it this way. You get no liberty or privileges the first year, although some may be earned. Think 'bootcamp' for 11 months. If you get through that, there are progressively more opportunities as the years pass to leave the campus. If you get through Plebe year, you'll be thrilled with what you get later. If you don't get through Plebe year, it will not be a problem.
ROTC is not as restrictive.
 
My son is a Youngster 3/C and he says he never has free time, but he is always going places. In his two years he has broken up with his High School GF and meet his current GF whom is his sponsors daughters friend.

He has been to Washington, New Orleans, New York and many other places. This coming spring break him and his roommates are going on a cruise so yes as time goes on the more freedoms will come to you. Going to a Service Academy is a big sacrifice my son compares USNA to his GF and other friends school and says he wouldn't have done it any differently and this Christmas break he brought his new GF home for the holidays!!
 
D received appointment last week and now is trying to decide between Academy, NROTC and regular college. Says she is 95% sure she wants Academy, but then starts listing 'cons' like plebe summer/year, restrictions on free time and many concerns voiced in this thread. Hoping there is someone out there to give a frank assessment from a female perspective.
 
My daughter and two of our friends (one male, one female) are all current Mids. Due to some external issues, the male Mid had the hardest time getting through Plebe year. His constant refrain to friends was, "I hate it there!" Still, he made it through. Now that Plebe year is long behind him, I have heard him say in public, "I LOVE USNA!" He has made life-long friends with whom he often travels over leave.

My daughter and our female friend who are Mids both arrived at USNA expecting to be "lower than dirt" in the eyes of the upperclass. They went in knowing that they would have virtually no freedom during those 11 months. Plebe year was/is very hard, and it can be very frustrating, but I think that it was a little easier to take, simply because they expected it to be so hard.

Now that Plebe year is over, my daughter can better understand why the year is structured the way it is. She and our female Mid friend are both in "hard" companies, and they both take a lot of pride in that. My daughter, for one, looks back on completing every training evolution of "Sea Trials" with a huge sense of accomplishment.

Both young women have made life long friends (both male and female), and they have had great experiences. One will be going to England over spring break with the women's rugby team. The other will be traveling to Brazil with the Women's Glee Club. Neither of them has any desire to be at a "standard college."

The bottom line is that all three of these Mids went to USNA because they are intent upon serving as Navy or Marine Corps officers, and they thought that the added demands of USNA was the best way for them (personally) to prepare.
 
The academy sucks. There is no way around that. You are forced to put up with a lot of nonsense. No one should be forced to watch Navy play American in basketball on a Tuesday in February, for example. Many mids are miserable people as well. Too many buy into the black and white world of midregs instead of using their brains to figure out what is right and what is wrong. The electronic conduct system was made for cowards. I have never heard myself
or any of my close friends say that they Love USNA. If they did, we would have them examined. Unless your kid is on a sports team, they have free time. 3-6pm is nap time. After dinner we would turn on the PS3 and crank up the Foreman Grill. The academy has given me good things. Free education, friends that I would give my life for, a cool job, and a reason to drink. For all those good things, it still sucked and that's just something you have to live with.
 
It is definitely a love/ hate relationship, but as many Mids will say they hate it they will also say there is no place they would rather be. In the long run it wont be so bad and one fantastic education! Please don't drink you have many years to build a tolerance and the younger you start the harder in life it will be to stop and may eventually ruin your life and everything you work hard for!!!! I have seen it in the military and law enforcement destroy lives!!!!!
 
I'm an adult and I can control my drinking. I learned how to walk past the CMOD and sign taps and make it to my room in a controlled fashion. Your child will need to master this skill to be successful in the Navy.
 
Fun is in the mind of the perp! There are plenty of opportunities to fit fun into the routine at the SAs. One great opportunity is to sign up for a sponsor family - someplace to go to wear civvies, watch TV, play video games, and have a real family-style meal now and then. Also be aware that some of the things mids consider fun may seem rather off the wall outside the Yard, but it keeps the mids happy and balanced. It's not all drudge.
 
Thanks for the feedback. Between your replies and looking at some YouTube videos showing mids doing fun things at the Academy, she is now at 99%.

marvin7794: I second SAMom's concern. If you are saying that you manage to get past the CMOD and sign taps in an inebriated state, you are already trying to justify your drinking to excess. Please get some counseling, if not for your own sake, then for that of your family and friends.
 
Thanks for the concerns. I guess you guys went to college during prohibition. Inebriation is intoxication which is not against the rules and has nothing to do with drinking to excess. It is fairly common for prospective SA parents to think their kids are going to live some sort of fairy tale life in Bancroft Hall. Stop watching youtube videos of chow calls and spirit spots and pay attention to what people are telling you.
 
I still find it was amazing how sober you could get for the 30 secs to get through the gate.
 
I think I always ran. That might have helped increase the burn rate.
 
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