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Exams, Leave and Life in Chase Hall

(The Cadet Experience, Class of 2013) Permanent link All Posts

If at the end of R-Day you would’ve told me that I would make it here, I would’ve told you that you were crazy. I entertained doubts that I was going to DOR (Drop on Request) quite often during those hazy summer days. Now that I look back however, I’m glad I didn’t. I can honestly say there is no other place I would rather be right now than here in Chase Hall. Time has surely flown. There is a saying here at the Academy “long days, short weeks,” and it truly is an apt description. The days here sometimes seem to be 25 or 26 hours long; yet somehow I always find myself at a weekend before I know it. That in itself is a blessing.

Finals are coming up. They are on everybody’s minds. I’m a lucky fourth class, I only have three finals that I have to take: Calculus 2 (Whatever possessed me to validate Calculus 1, I’ll never know) Chemistry and Nautical Science. I feel that I’m prepared for Naut Sci, but I’m still a bit worried about Chemistry and I know that I need to study more for the Calculus exam. I’ll find time though, I always do. It’s hiding in some little corner of my day, some forgotten miniscule moment hiding out in my schedule. That’s the key here at the Academy I’ve found; ferret out those little minutes and get as much done during them as possible. That’s the only way you get to sleep at a decent hour. It’s the only way to keep a good GPA.

The only other thing that people can seem to talk about other than finals is leave. Ten days from now I’ll be on an airplane home, soaring toward my beloved Kansas, toward family and friends. The rooms are bedecked in tinsel and lights, and nearly every room has a Christmas tree of some size in it. The Christmas spirit is gripping Chase Hall. I’ve always loved this time of year, but this year it seems extra special. It has something about sharing this holiday season with my shipmates: people whom I care about more than anything in the world. Yes, Chase Hall at Christmas time is so different than it was on that first day oh so many weeks ago; so different than it seemed on R-Day. It has finally become… my home. It’s my home in the sense that I feel comfortable here, that my friends are here, that I can’t imagine waking up anywhere else. I’m reminded of what a LT once told the corps at a lecture: “Enjoy your time at Chase Hall. Never again will you live just down the hall from so many close friends.” How right he was…. How right he was.

Semper Paratus
4/c Stephen Nolan

Stephen.T.Nolan@uscga.edu

More about Stephen.

Last Edited by Leann Strickland at 2/13/2012 11:11 AM