GoNavy2014
5-Year Member
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2010
- Messages
- 16
Please tell us what we can expect for youngster year.
Youngsters
- Thread starter GoNavy2014
- Start date
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2011
- Messages
- 869
Youngster year was probably my worst year here. I would redo plebe year over youngster year.
Coming off of plebe year, it's very easy to lose focus. You may have more freedom, but you know the system and it's easy to try and test your luck at gaming it. The "ZOMG! I GO TO USNA!!" enthusiasm of plebe year has usually worn off, and you start to see the warts a lot more. The flaws and leadership failures of your company mates are a lot more obvious. It's extremely easy to get cynical.
You have to take care of yourself (and your plebes!!!), there's no more hand-holding: if you mess something up, it's much more likely that the offense will go straight to frying rather than an informal "counselling."
You're out of the spotlight a lot more, and it's hard to get positive attention. "Leadership Responsibility" as a youngster is all on you.* It's up to you to decide whether you're going to be that guy who wakes up at the five minute chow call and refuses to realize that he doesn't fit into the pants he was fitted for over plebe summer, or you're going to go out there and actually talk to the plebes and take the mentoring role seriously.
THAT BEING SAID, youngster year is great chance to push yourself and get your stuff squared away to prepare for being an upperclass and a 2/C leadership position. In some ways, it's more challenging than plebe year in that no one is looking out for you in the same way.
Like everything, it's all in your attitude. You make youngster year what you want it to be. If you let it suck, it sucks, almost worse than plebe year.
*This is true for all four years, but especially youngster year.
Coming off of plebe year, it's very easy to lose focus. You may have more freedom, but you know the system and it's easy to try and test your luck at gaming it. The "ZOMG! I GO TO USNA!!" enthusiasm of plebe year has usually worn off, and you start to see the warts a lot more. The flaws and leadership failures of your company mates are a lot more obvious. It's extremely easy to get cynical.
You have to take care of yourself (and your plebes!!!), there's no more hand-holding: if you mess something up, it's much more likely that the offense will go straight to frying rather than an informal "counselling."
You're out of the spotlight a lot more, and it's hard to get positive attention. "Leadership Responsibility" as a youngster is all on you.* It's up to you to decide whether you're going to be that guy who wakes up at the five minute chow call and refuses to realize that he doesn't fit into the pants he was fitted for over plebe summer, or you're going to go out there and actually talk to the plebes and take the mentoring role seriously.
THAT BEING SAID, youngster year is great chance to push yourself and get your stuff squared away to prepare for being an upperclass and a 2/C leadership position. In some ways, it's more challenging than plebe year in that no one is looking out for you in the same way.
Like everything, it's all in your attitude. You make youngster year what you want it to be. If you let it suck, it sucks, almost worse than plebe year.
*This is true for all four years, but especially youngster year.
In my experience, the youngster year was the toughest. I think they call it "The Cynical Youngster Stage" or something like that. The novelty of going to a place as nifty as the Naval Academy has worn off with all the stuff they didn't think about before going and the classes are harder and more demanding and they have matured from being wide eyed plebes of the year before.
Youngsters do not have the duties of the plebes and they do not have the leadership responsiblities of the Second Class or Firsties. They are just there. They have a little more freedom than plebe year but their time is filled with harder homework. Its like being the middle child in a family....they aren't the oldest with all the perks that go along with being oldest and they aren't the babies with all the attention either... It can be frustrating for them and it shows.
I expect, if history stays true, for my plebe to become a little difficult next year, complain a lot, and generally keep me on my toes to give support.
Of course, YMMV....
Youngsters do not have the duties of the plebes and they do not have the leadership responsiblities of the Second Class or Firsties. They are just there. They have a little more freedom than plebe year but their time is filled with harder homework. Its like being the middle child in a family....they aren't the oldest with all the perks that go along with being oldest and they aren't the babies with all the attention either... It can be frustrating for them and it shows.
I expect, if history stays true, for my plebe to become a little difficult next year, complain a lot, and generally keep me on my toes to give support.
Of course, YMMV....