Well...
Your reporting date is nearing closer and closer and I remember the amount of nerves that I felt as my day approached. Being a 25er and having just finished doolie year, I wanted to offer some of the biggest lessons that I learned throughout basic and my doolie year.
1) Work as a team.
No one can get through basic training or doolie year by themselves. The entire process is designed to ensure that those subjected to it, work through obstacles together. At the end of basic training, we asked our cadre "what are some of the things that we did that made you upset the most?". They told us that they never got upset when we didn't meet a time hack or if we failed an event - rather they were the most upset when we argued, talked bad, or mouthed off to one another. They told us that it defeated the very purpose of our training. Be there for your teammates. Talk to them when they are feeling down. Help them study if they are struggling with knowledge. Push your slowest classmate to catch up with the pact but don't leave them behind. Be empathetic - be human.
2) Be okay with failure.
Time and time again I see fellow classmates of mine scared of failure. You need to welcome it. You shouldn't mind failing because it is important to understand that it is impossible to be perfect and it is the greatest tool for improvement. The greatest example of failure that you will encounter is CompSci 110 which is a mandatory course for freshman. For those of you who understand code, you know that it is rare where you will ever get the code right on the first try. CompSci is difficult and coding is a challenge. The class is designed around this premise and attempts to teach students that no matter how good you are, no matter if you are gifted at coding or not, you will fail. The code will not work for whatever odd reason (maybe you have an extra colon or you forgot to indent). But failure is not permanent just as success is never final. Through failing repeatedly, you begin to understand where your error is and can correct it. Only after going through this process does the final working code emerge. I remember a classmate sitting next to repeatedly failing on his code over and over. He got frustrated and slammed his desk yelling "I HATE FAILING". Don't be that person. Laugh at your mistakes, but also learn from them. The real failure is not learning from your previous.
3) Educate yourself.
The academy is premiere institution so take advantage of that! Irregardless of you major, you will have access to world-class facilities and educators who truly want to invest in your education. While learning from the textbooks is important, so is learning from the perspectives of fellow classmates. The academy draws in people from all over the world. From across the nation to other countries you will encounter cadets of different race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and with different perspectives. Diversity. Instead of saying "I don't agree with you and my viewpoints are just who I am", seek to understand why a person might think the way they do. Instead of labelling someone as a "blue-haired Californian" or a "red-neck southerner" try to understand each other. Your views will be challenged at the academy and some will change for the better. Don't be afraid of change. Without change, there is no growth, and without growth there is no progress. Without progress there is no future.
4) Don't become cynical.
There is a lot to dislike about BCT and doolie life. You will become the bottom of the barrel for months and will continue to feel that way until recognition. Between academics, military duties, and PT at some point it is easy for an individual to feel cynical. I have learned that attitude and behavior is contagious. If a person in a group is happy, that group is more inclined to reflect that. If a person in that group is cynical and complaining about how difficult life is, then the morale of the group will plummet. During training sessions the WORST thing you can have is someone who consistently complains.This goes back to point number 1, you are all going through the suck together - so embrace it. Enjoy it. Cherish it. Remember it. But don't become cynical about it.
5) Remember your sense of humor.
You will learn that there is time and a place for laughing and joking and a time to be serious. During basic training you don't get a lot of free time to laugh. But please don't forget your sense of humor. Humor is a device that we use which enables us to connect with others. To feel joy and to express our emotions. Humor makes us human. And if we lose that sense of humor, then it is easy to spiral down to cynicism, depression, or other negative emotions.
Those are my bits of advice. You are all strong and will be able to maneuver around any obstacle that is placed before you. If hundreds of classes before you could get through it, then so can you. If you have any questions feel free to PM or respond. Here are my parting words: Patience comes from love, so remember to have patience will all things, but first of all yourself.
Your reporting date is nearing closer and closer and I remember the amount of nerves that I felt as my day approached. Being a 25er and having just finished doolie year, I wanted to offer some of the biggest lessons that I learned throughout basic and my doolie year.
1) Work as a team.
No one can get through basic training or doolie year by themselves. The entire process is designed to ensure that those subjected to it, work through obstacles together. At the end of basic training, we asked our cadre "what are some of the things that we did that made you upset the most?". They told us that they never got upset when we didn't meet a time hack or if we failed an event - rather they were the most upset when we argued, talked bad, or mouthed off to one another. They told us that it defeated the very purpose of our training. Be there for your teammates. Talk to them when they are feeling down. Help them study if they are struggling with knowledge. Push your slowest classmate to catch up with the pact but don't leave them behind. Be empathetic - be human.
2) Be okay with failure.
Time and time again I see fellow classmates of mine scared of failure. You need to welcome it. You shouldn't mind failing because it is important to understand that it is impossible to be perfect and it is the greatest tool for improvement. The greatest example of failure that you will encounter is CompSci 110 which is a mandatory course for freshman. For those of you who understand code, you know that it is rare where you will ever get the code right on the first try. CompSci is difficult and coding is a challenge. The class is designed around this premise and attempts to teach students that no matter how good you are, no matter if you are gifted at coding or not, you will fail. The code will not work for whatever odd reason (maybe you have an extra colon or you forgot to indent). But failure is not permanent just as success is never final. Through failing repeatedly, you begin to understand where your error is and can correct it. Only after going through this process does the final working code emerge. I remember a classmate sitting next to repeatedly failing on his code over and over. He got frustrated and slammed his desk yelling "I HATE FAILING". Don't be that person. Laugh at your mistakes, but also learn from them. The real failure is not learning from your previous.
3) Educate yourself.
The academy is premiere institution so take advantage of that! Irregardless of you major, you will have access to world-class facilities and educators who truly want to invest in your education. While learning from the textbooks is important, so is learning from the perspectives of fellow classmates. The academy draws in people from all over the world. From across the nation to other countries you will encounter cadets of different race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and with different perspectives. Diversity. Instead of saying "I don't agree with you and my viewpoints are just who I am", seek to understand why a person might think the way they do. Instead of labelling someone as a "blue-haired Californian" or a "red-neck southerner" try to understand each other. Your views will be challenged at the academy and some will change for the better. Don't be afraid of change. Without change, there is no growth, and without growth there is no progress. Without progress there is no future.
4) Don't become cynical.
There is a lot to dislike about BCT and doolie life. You will become the bottom of the barrel for months and will continue to feel that way until recognition. Between academics, military duties, and PT at some point it is easy for an individual to feel cynical. I have learned that attitude and behavior is contagious. If a person in a group is happy, that group is more inclined to reflect that. If a person in that group is cynical and complaining about how difficult life is, then the morale of the group will plummet. During training sessions the WORST thing you can have is someone who consistently complains.This goes back to point number 1, you are all going through the suck together - so embrace it. Enjoy it. Cherish it. Remember it. But don't become cynical about it.
5) Remember your sense of humor.
You will learn that there is time and a place for laughing and joking and a time to be serious. During basic training you don't get a lot of free time to laugh. But please don't forget your sense of humor. Humor is a device that we use which enables us to connect with others. To feel joy and to express our emotions. Humor makes us human. And if we lose that sense of humor, then it is easy to spiral down to cynicism, depression, or other negative emotions.
Those are my bits of advice. You are all strong and will be able to maneuver around any obstacle that is placed before you. If hundreds of classes before you could get through it, then so can you. If you have any questions feel free to PM or respond. Here are my parting words: Patience comes from love, so remember to have patience will all things, but first of all yourself.
