applicant77
Member
- Joined
- Feb 4, 2022
- Messages
- 11
When you reported as a new cadet, what was the most surprising part about your new life.
While many of my peers match the description of @dutydidnotwait98, I was shocked at a large portion that did not. There are a lot of flaws here that you will only fully understand once you are a cadet. There are a lot of New Cadets that show up for the wrong reasons, didn't do their research, etc. If you are on this forum odds are you are not in that crowd. I absolutely love it here precisely because I knew what I was getting into and came anyways. A lot of cadets get extremely cynical and do not engage in the many many opportunities presented here. Do not be that cadet. Make the most of your experience. Follow the honor code. Live the cadet creed and drink a bit of the Kool-Aid.
Some of my closest friends in the Class of 2022 are going to MIT for graduate studies, are interning at SpaceX before their BOLC, or are dead-set on earning a Green Beret. I knew others who got kicked out for sexual assault, tried to cheat their way to success, or simply were consensually mediocre. If West Point is your path, go all in and own it. If it's not, that's okay too. But don't half-*** your way to 2LT bars.
Cadets and midshipmen reflect the society from which they are drawn. Many attend for different reasons, not all of which are shiny and video-worthy. Some will have successfully buffaloed interviewers and flown different colors in their essays. This is expected. Eventually, at some point along the way, these folks are weeded out. The service and SAs build in attrition factors at every step of a military member’s career. Sometimes these folks are late bloomers. Sometimes they slither their way through the SA but hit it hard and seriously once they are commissioned.I have to say when I first read dutydidnotwait98's post, I thought it was trolling or joking around. Prospective2019's post is spot onto what my cadets would say about their biggest surprise.