One of the first downers you'll run into...

Zaphod

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just spoke to a kid who is a plebe, and he mentioned something that hasn't been mentioned before that I know of. Thought I'd share. Current Mids and Alumni will know what I'm talking about right off the bat.

Everyone has seen the catalogs. Everyone has seen the documentaries. Everyone has seen the movies (the GOOD ones, not like that abortion that came out earlier this year!). You visit the Yard and get a brief glimpse of the place. You talk to counselors and others who know the reputation of the place, but probably haven't been there.

What you end up with is a mental picture of what USNA is, and the caliber of person that attends. The men are all 6 feet tall, hyper-trim, and geniuses. The women are all ravens with brains and killer instincts. No one doubts why they are there. The uniforms are perfect, the rooms are spotless, the grades are wonderful, the linen is clean, etc., etc., etc....

And then........... you get there for real.

Turns out that there are overweight Mids, and Mids on academic probation. Mids who you wonder how they managed to scrape enough social grace together to get passed the Congresscritter's secretary. You have some upperclass dweeb with a neck no bigger than a pencil and with a crooked gigline howling at you for having lint on your shirt. In other words, the gleaming preconception dies a rather horrid, bloody death.

It is one of the first letdowns you'll experience: Mids aren't supermen. They're just regular folks, albeit better than the average Joe you'd run into in the street. Some folks will realize this and feel a bit betrayed, and wonder if they really want to still be there. It's natural.

Not much advice that can be offered to counter it other than to be ready for it. No matter what the literature says, you will find both diamonds and turds at USNA, so just be ready for it, and don't let the realization trip you up. All you have to do is commit to being one of the model Mids instead of one of the less-than-model ones.

Wish I'd warned 2010 about this sooner, but I'm sure most have figured it out by now.

Now it's up for 2011.
 
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LOL!

Thanks for the reminder! Edited to reflect original version! :shake:

I was REALLY tired last night. :wink:


ETA: Yes, THAT is what raised someone's blood pressure yesterday. Amazing, eh? :rolleyes:
 
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that is ridiculous that someone was upset about that line. Whoever complained about that one is going to have a rude awakening if their child goes to any of the Academies.

Not only that but I can't believe they edited your post for that line, what is offensive about that term?

Oh well, some people are way too sensitive.
 
Yeah, I've noticed a lot of this as well. I usually stay at mando meal and listen/join in on discussions with my squad leader. One of the things he mentioned was the 'numbing process' everyone goes through. When things calmed down a little, I began to really notice it. Then, I began to really regret leaving NROTC and college for this place.

IE, our training officer got fried by our company officer for not having his room inspection ready the day the 'dant was doing a walkthrough. You can imagine how this affected the plebes when we found out. After two days of rack and uniform races becuase someone's room was unsat, our TO gets fried for the same thing. Talk about hypocrisy. Oh well.

It's just about midnight, and I have the PRT tomorrow. If anyone wants my comparison of this place to NROTC, or any other comments, feel free to PM/email me.

Dave, out
 
Well, at least the TO didn't get away with it. Hopefully he'll learn his lesson. It IS the place to learn such lessons; much better than doing so out in the fleet.
 
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