cadet blogs

Choices

(Choosing the Coast Guard Academy, Class of 2015) Permanent link All Posts

Happy New Year!! Looking back on this past year, I have realized some of the choices I made were not the best; they hurt my family, but in a sense made us stronger in the end. I have matured a lot this year through experiences that I should have not chosen, but I also know that they have taught me important lessons. One choice that I know was the right one is being here. Having been here at the Academy for only a semester, I am thankful for the possibilities that I am given. Every day is a challenge, but I know after three more years, the hard work will have paid off.

Being able to see my family back home after more than six months of having to be gone was great. Christmas break was very relaxing, and could not have come at a more perfect time. Most days I just wanted to stay home and watch movies all day and do pretty much nothing because daily life as a cadet keeps us busy. It was also great to see my friends from high school. Seeing them this time coming home was a little bit different from coming home from prep school. One factor could be I had lost contact with most of my friends due to not having Facebook privileges, or that most of us are doing our own thing now. We were told this would happen, and I had thought because I did not experience this last year, that it wouldn’t happen to me. It’s a horrible feeling to be with many of your close friends and not be able to connect with them anymore, or have no desire to talk to them about their college life. It may not happen to some people, but just know that when you get back to the Academy, that your shipmates will be more than happy to see you.

Now what we have to look forward to is eventually getting carry-on, getting through boards successfully, and maintaining the standards we have set for ourselves. Best of luck to you as you continue the last bit of your senior year!

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Posted by Leann Strickland at 2/16/2012 1:33 PM