cadet blogs

What You Give, What You Get

(Choosing the Coast Guard Academy, Class of 2012) Permanent link All Posts

So I’m sitting in the Providence airport right now, procrastinating to the extreme. My flight leaves in about half an hour and I am sitting at the gate typing my cadet journal entry to make sure I get my last required institutional service hour before the fall semester officially draws to a close. When you’re a cadet you spend a lot of time thinking about the things you give up. For example the fact that I haven’t had time to write this until now because of finals or the fact that if I don’t continue to drink the Starbucks coffee in my hand I will be in caffeine withdrawal in about five minutes. It’s easy to think about all the things you give up as a cadet but what I realized last time I went home on leave is how far ahead in the game of life I am compared to my friends. It’s not about being better than your friends or being an elitist, it’s about seeing the big picture of life.

When you come here you don’t get into college, you get a career and that is something special for an 18 year old. It is easy to point to all the sleep and personal well-being you give up as a cadet, not being able to go out and party on Tuesday night, but it is far harder to realize how much good you do yourself in the long run and how much you will grow and develop as a person in your short time at the Academy. That’s what I think is really special about being a cadet. Anyway, my flight is boarding, time to go home for Christmas.

More about Steven.

Last Edited by Leann Strickland at 2/8/2012 3:11 PM