OCTOBER

Week One

This past weekend was homecoming weekend, which is typically a moderately busy one at the academy. For me, that meant that on Saturday the rowing center was busy with Alumni, and we had a friendly Alumni Race out on the Thames River. Thankfully the cadets were able to take home the victory.

I was really thankful that crew kept me busy for most of Saturday- The underclass at the academy weren’t granted liberty (able to leave the Academy) until halftime of the football game (which ended up being around 2:30 pm). I assume command wanted to keep as many cadets around base as possible with all the alumni present on base. Weekends where they keep us at the academy for most of Saturday are relatively few and far between but when it happens it’s a real frustration that even the weekend isn’t your own.

Liberty was granted though, and Saturday ended up being a lot of fun. There was a silent auction in Stonington (a town 20 minutes from the CGA) to raise money for the community, which was a good time. There are a bunch of touristy towns close to the Academy (Stonington Borough, Mystic, and Watch Hill), so if you keep your eyes open there is usually stuff to keep you busy during liberty hours.

Sunday the crew team headed to Hartford to race at the Head of the Riverfront- an all day event. Both our men’s and women’s varsity were disappointed with their results, so that definitely means practice this week will be more challenging than usual. In addition- we have our midterm week starting today. Wednesday afternoon I have two math tests in a row and the following day I have an Organizational Behavior and Leadership test. I found out immediately last year that things get busy here in a hurry, things may be lax for a little, but inevitably tests and projects are all due around the same time. Time to get to it!

Week Two

Midterms are over and most are getting excited for thanksgiving break which isn’t too far away. Fall racing just came to an end as the crew team was in Boston for the Head of the Charles Regatta. I was relieved to see that my midterm grades are on par with last year’s, and it proved to me that 3/c or sophomore year here is a lot easier. It’s not that I don’t work hard, but I’m not working really hard as often as I used to, and I have a lot of time to do the things I enjoy.

Dealing with my fourth class this year has reminded me of how tough the first year here is. A lot of my extra time this year has been spent tutoring and mentoring him, because he has been having a good deal of trouble with school. It’s really a shock for him too because high school was a breeze, and he was very successful. He had routed a “special request” to take a long weekend to be at his uncle’s wedding (Usually underclass cadets are required to be at the academy Friday nights, and from 1 am Sunday morning to 7:30 on Sunday morning. In order to be gone all weekend, you either need to “earn” a long or short weekend or route a special). Because his grades have been low, the company commander (a first class cadet) did not approve his request and subsequently the fourth class was unable to attend the wedding. He’s holding up great and is doing well, but that’s just an example of how coming here puts you under the control of others, and often times they are just a few years older or your peers. They are also making decisions that can really affect you…

Upper class are often helpful, and setting an awesome example for you, not always just making you stay at the academy on a weekend or clean something when you wish you could be doing homework. During swab summer you have two sets of cadre, the 2nd class that run your indoctrination. Typically people say that the 2nd make is easier, because its closer to the end of the summer, but this wasn’t so with my platoon. Our 2nd make platoon commander was very hardcore and pushed us until the last day. At many points during the summer tears were shed, and it was tough. This individual became the 2nd class in charge of the 4th class in the company that I was living in during the first semester. Not only was I blessed to have a hardcore cadre through the summer, but he also made first semester sometimes nightmarish. My first semester here I was always hurrying, and working every extra second I could. It wasn’t just school or just sports- I did a lot of shoe shining and ironing and memorizing. There was a point to all this though. It really taught me what it was to work hard, and it probably was the most productive time of my life as far as what I accomplished. The tough part was that I wasn’t really doing things that I wanted to do.

I have mixed feelings about that time but I know there is a lot of good that came out of it. I never knew what it was like to work so hard. High school rarely challenged me, and I rarely really challenged myself there. Sometime I’m sure I’ll draw on that experience when life becomes tough, but for now I’m really relieved that I have time to be normal. Come here, and you’ll be challenged. Whether it’s emotionally, physically, or intellectually, anyone who comes here is going to be developed in these areas.