I'm thinking of bailing

Hello all nervous plebes2be,

I was in your spot last year. I quite literally was shaking as I said goodbye to my parents before going into alumni and I cried when we had to march into mother b. It happens to everyone and that's ok. I recommend going to memorial hall on your last day. Sit there and reflect. Even better, take a walk along the seawall. Time goes by fast. I can tell you that you will look back and laugh at what happened on I-Day and during plebe summer with your soon to be company mates and classmates! Please feel free to pm me. I'll see y'all in the ac year. You got this!
 
OP - Don't bail! You will have plenty of time to decide if this is for you or not before you make a commitment to serve. Make an informed decision later, not an emotional one now. In a few years, whether you stay or not, you will not regret giving it an honest try. You applied for a reason and were accepted because admissions sees something in you.

Your feelings are very normal, but don't give in to fear. See this through Plebe summer and AC year. You'll still have another year after that to figure out if it is for you or not.

Best of luck to you.
 
I've told my story a few times on the forum. I'll sum it up as quick as I can.

Navy brat, father and grandfather were Navy officers. It was my lifetime goal. Due to snafus with college application stuff (and lack of giving a fudge about school, which my grades reflected), I ended up not going to college right out of high school. I wanted to fly, so joined the Army hoping to apply for Warrant officer school to fly helicopters. Never got around to that as I also put in another application for USNA while active duty in the Army. Came back from deployment in Saudi Arabia from Desert Storm, and literally a few days later my NAPS offer showed up. Army released me from my enlisted contract, I flew home to Annapolis for a few days, then up to Newport for NAPS. Finished out there with a 3.3 GPA (or so), and got my USNA appointment. But I was already checking out mentally and wasn't sure it was what I wanted. Decided to report anyway for I-Day.

Plebe summer was kind of silly for me and I considered it a joke. I was already 3 years into military service, had been stationed in a combat zone for 5 months, and was older than even some of the Detailers. I definitely had the wrong mindset. I still performed my best and supported my shipmates, but my heart definitely wasn't there. So, I did DoR in the second half of the summer, which shocked everyone (including the Dant, who I had to sit in front of and explain why I was done).

Still didn't condense the story that much!!

But the moral?? I let my head and heart get in the way. I could easily do it. I was highly successful. I just didn't care anymore, and I let the fact that these "kids," who had little to no real world experience, were trying to lead me get in the way of clear thinking.

I realized a few years ago after continually telling people I didn't regret my decision to DoR that it was total B.S. and that I was telling others that to justify it to myself. It was at that point I realized I was pretty stupid for throwing that away, and I DO regret not staying.
 
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It’s so hard to pursue something, anything, when you don’t have the support. I’m very sorry. But one thing to know is that the navy is a big family. Even if you eventually decide military service isn't for you, you will build a crazy strong support system during plebe year that sticks with you in the military and beyond. Plebe year is hard, but you wouldn’t have gotten accepted if you couldn’t handle hard things. My advice: understand that when they yell at you it’s not personal (believe me, they’re trying not to laugh), lean on your shipmates, embrace the suck, and have fun!
 
First, I didn't read all the responses ... I am sure they are well meaning and supportive, but until you have been there, and done that, it's hard to put yourself in the shoes of a incoming Plebe at I minus 24-48 hours. I've been there, done that, and had many of the same qualms and reservations.

First, you aren't alone. Everyone that has raised their right hand on I Day has been nervous and scared --for some its easier to hide than others. Second, you earned the right to be there -- Admissions picked you over thousands of others. Whatever it is that was in your application and record , a combination of leadership, academics, athletics is what made you qualified to attend USNA and serve as an Officer in our Navy/Marine Corps team. FInally, once you step into that great sucking vortex outside Alumni Hall on Thursday morning, you are going to forget all your fears. You are going to meet 1000 people , soon to become your brothers and sisters, that are facing the same fears, and detailers who dead set on making you forget about everything but the next training evolution ahead. Once you get through Plebe Summer , you will have Academic Year to consume your fears, and before you know it, you will graduate and be reporting to your first command ...and guess what, you will be scared then, but you will have the experience of looking back at what you went through the prior four years to bolster you.

Honestly, life is about facing your fears ..look back, what obstacles have you faced and overcome (BTW --that's one of my BGO questions ). Draw on that strength, get through Plebe Summer, then Plebe Year, then 4 years and then the off to the Fleet as a Junior Officer, which I still believe is the best job any 20ish person can have. Whether you are "five and dive" or serve a distinguished career, the opportunity to lead and work with sailors and marines, and other Officers is going to be rewarding, exciting, and sometime scary. Yep, you are going to make mistakes...and you will pay for them..but in the end, when you look back , you won't regret a minute. I'd gladly step into your shoes tomorrow.

Best of Luck....report back when you graduate ...you will be fine !

Oh, and Beat Army! That makes everything better.

 
blhenrywalpole said:
What a disgraceful post. When you leave, on Thursday there will be an empty chair because you took a spot from someone who actually wanted to be there.
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severn said:
Is this a selfish and inconsiderate act when hundreds of applicants were crying and praying?
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> These comments come up everytime someone questions their commitment and/or thinks about dropping out, and the thought process is absolute BS. Admissions has deemed the person who receives the appointment the most qualified for the spot available, ie. he/she won a competitive process. A candidates "desire" or "want" is only one small part of the consideration -- the question is who is going to be successful at USNA and the best Naval /Marine Corps, and the Admissions process is pretty good at making that determination.
 
Haven’t read all the posts.

Don’t quit now. You don’t know what you are quitting. You are going to be around other kids feeling the same as you. Y’all are not coming IN as warfighters or officers. You Will DEVELOPED into naval leaders. It’s a process. That works.

Self doubt, if having the ‘right stuff’ is. Or Al. But if you were honest in your essays and interviews about who you are, and your WHY, you will be fine. Bc you were identified as having the ‘it’ factor.

The SA’s have been at this a long time. And they are really, really good at this.

If nothing else, take a leap of faith, trust those that selected you, and give it a try. I feel strongly, that if you don’t give yourself a chance, you will regret it.

Get yourself to Bancroft today. You can spend the night there. Others will be there. You can do it. And if you find it’s NOT a good fit, you can walk away. But don’t do it today. Or tomorrow.

OP, it’s hard to read you are there alone bc you parents don’t support you. But I’m pretty confident that they will come around. They may not understand, and are fearful. Idk. But come here ANY time and you will have support. You actually have a ton of supporters. You just haven’t met them yet 😉

You will aslo find support in the Navy Famiky. More than you can guess. After the Oath, you will be swept up by Navy Family. You won’t be alone.

Hang in there!! You got this!!!!
 
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Don’t make a long term decision based off of short term emotions. Walking away now without giving it a shot would be a regret you will always hold and question. You’ve done too much work and worked to hard earning nominations and an appointment to walk away now. You owe it to yourself to give it a shot.

I would be more worried if you were not nervous because this is a big change in your life. Show up tomorrow, follow orders, and you’ll be in the routine of plebe summer before you know it.
 
Plebe2be said:
I want to thank everyone (well almost everyone) who jumped in to help a lowly nobody plebe to be, I really appreciate it, I feel supported in a way I don't think I have so far, so thank you very much everyone! I guess I am trying to do too much and think about too much right now and I don't have to, at least not yet. I am going to do what Captain MJ suggested tomorrow and go for a run, that clears my head really well, thank you ma'am or sir. Can I go on the yard tomorrow? I know I need to have my ID. I just don't know if we're "banned" until Thursday, haha!

Also, when all the other new kids are hanging out with their family after we take the oath of office, what do I do? Thanks again everybody, I am going to turn in for tonight, thank you very much for your support.
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You got this. You are going to realize very soon that everyone here is your family and want you to succeed. Some days you may feel like you are alone but you never are. Good luck tomorrow. It is the beginning of the greatest ride you will ever be on.
 
Plebe2be said:
Can I go on the yard tomorrow? I know I need to have my ID. I just don't know if we're "banned" until Thursday, haha!
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Itisgoingtorulesoon said:
Howdy OP. I’m an incoming plebe co 27 too. I’m in Annapolis today!! If you need anything at all, reach out and lmk. I’ll see you soon on the yard tmrw buddy!!
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^ BZ It's.... Classmate bonds already forming. For OP, walk around the Yard and DTA today, look for other scared looking kids, usually with a gaggle of family around them.--they are pretty easy to spot ! Say hi, and maybe you will find a family/classmate to adopt you ...some will be introverted and want to spend the day alone, but some people like the idea of having a stranger along to take up some of the stress.
 
Dragomir said:
Hey bro, I'm an incoming plebe and will be in Annapolis soon tomorrow. I understand how you feel. If it's okay with you, I'd like to meet up with you so you won't feel alone. I'd pm you but that's not yet possible (you need to have 5 messages to enable the pm function). Once it is, I'll send you a pm and we can set up a meeting if you're down.

You're not alone in this, I want you to know that. Don't quit. You will get through this.
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You can connect on their profile. Just know it’s not private.

I thought of you @Dragomir as a resource!! OP, connect with someone. Go to dinner together. OP the saying ‘your Mid is my Mid’ really happens. There are beautiful moments occurring, all of the time.

And what you are going through today, will give you empathy to offer in 4 short years to the next class. Nothing is wasted.
 
OP Miriam-Webster '"Open the Door": To make (something) easier or more likely to happen"'. You never know what is on the other side. You have a lot of time but give it a try as many before you have done. "You miss one hundred percent of the shots you don't take" Wayne Gretzky. There are 352 synonyms for Quit and none of them sound good.
 
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I love the support in these posts. This kind of support is exactly what you’ll get from your classmates in a couple of days. You won’t be alone then.

OP, you are having totally normal, expected feelings for a 17yo going on to do big things. Lean in to those feelings and use them to vault you into your next adventure as a plebe. I suspect you will be a great classmate to your fellow plebes.

I was in your shoes 28 years ago at a different SA. My parents supported me but couldn’t afford to fly out with me and they weren’t sure I’d last anyway. Going in alone was scary but I wasn’t the only one and you won’t be either. Just take those first steps. Heed the many posters above that say you were chosen for a reason. You can always leave later but give yourself the gift of finishing plebe summer. Then head into the schoolyear ready to work. Once you get into a good schoolyear routine, look around and evaluate. You may still want to leave but that’s okay, you gave it a good try. You may want to keep going for just 1 more year. You may know that you are staying til graduation. You don’t have to have all of the answers yet.

The first day will be the hardest but each day will get just a little bit easier. Just do the next thing.
 
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I laughed at the "Just Quit" comment, because MIDNs often hold up these signs during the PFTs at USNA. They are meant to be funny and they most certainly are. :p

"Just Quit" is a rallying cry at USNA, because nothing worth doing or having is ever easy.
 
OP I am proud of you for trying and being vulnerable and acknowledging your doubt! The anxiety and fear is real! DS was there last year. It is scary and you really won't know what it will be like and how you will handle it until you are doing it. That is the same as every other stage in life, such as becoming parents, going into your first job, and supporting your DS or DD through their lives. Please know that when we say - your MIDN is my MIDN - it is real. I support you and you will find so many others on the yard and off that will too. As a Mom, my advice would be - take all of the opportunities that you can and give it your all - you will be amazed by what you learn about yourself and how much you learn about others! All the best for a great day tomorrow! You are NOT ALONE!
 
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