If you could go back to your Freshman year of ROTC or SA, what would you do differently? Reflections on the past -

[USNA_STEM_Prof]

All that have participated in a commissioning pathway feel free to add your wisdom. Thank you.

I'd have hit the gym. It sounds silly to say now, but growing up I was wary of being overweight like some family members, so I often under-nourished myself and would just run (albeit slowly). Plus, being a "smart" kid, I had this naive impression that I could figure out fitness, as if it was akin to solving a system of equations. No pain, no gain? Not for me! I'll figure this out without effort (sarcasm).

It wasn't until my senior year with two roommates that wanted to be SEALs that I began to really understand fitness and strength training, and even then it took several more years to truly fill out my 6'7" frame. I was about 200lbs back then. Now I'm about 240lbs and it isn't dad-bod, haha. Plus, I was afraid of activities I wasn't comfortable with and good at, and despite whatever stories I told myself, I knew I wasn't an athlete like many of my peers. But instead of shying away from it for years, I'd hit it head on and early.

 

[justme]

I have thought I had written an answer to this several times, but I must've kept erasing. I would have smacked myself around several times over to stay focused and grasp the situation.

I wasn't prepared for college, much less being a college programmer at a big state U. I washed out, due to a complete lack of situational awareness at every turn. Letting grades slip, not paying attention to uniform, etc.

Of course, had I done anything different, I wouldn't have met my wife which meant not having DS's military journey to follow which means I wouldn't contemplate what and where I went awry. So, I probably would have ended up doing the same thing again.

 

[KPEngnr90]

Actually study! I realized while at Kings Point that it didn't matter how sharp your hospital corners are and how shiny your belt buckle was, you could have shoes that looked like they were polished with a chocolate bar and you could still stay as long as you made the grade academically. Too many of my Plebe year classmates worried about the former than the latter and many didn't come back after Christmas break.