NROTC, UC and GPA

Well, it’s Monday, but it feels like my day off. I spent all of this weekend at Boston University for ROTC Indoctrination. And by all, I mean that I’ve had less than fifteen hours of sleep in the last three days.

I suppose it was fun in a very particular sort of way. It wasn’t a shock to be yelled at constantly and have to run from one place to another - I was expecting more and was actually surprised at how little it affected me. But it does take a bit of adjusting at first, when you’ve been giving the orders and taking the salutes for a couple of years, to be back in the bottom rung. Still, by the second day things had gotten a bit more relaxed, and there was a certain pleasure in sticking out a fist and yelling out a number as loud as possible.

Since I already knew how to march and shine my shoes, I found my thoughts turning to a lot of reminiscing. I remember the week before my freshmen year of high school, being second squad leader while someone taught me how to do a column left. And yesterday (not even kidding) there I was again, second squad leader, listening to instructions on column left. And thinking about high school.

I’ve discovered that I actually missed shining my shoes – it’s therapeutic. And I’ve missed other things as well, as annoying as some parts are. It made the week a lot easier, though, if one already knew how to drill and shine shoes and spit out the general orders and rank structure. So thanks and I miss you, SHS NJROTC!

Of course, college ROTC is different, because you are preparing to go into the military. I’m not on a Navy Scholarship, so I’m not obligated yet, but almost everyone else is. We took the oath of office yesterday night, and even though we’re not quite sure what the office entails yet and some of us have no formal obligation, holding up your right hand and swearing the words you’ve heard so many times have a way of reminding you of where you’re going and why it’s important.

I also, by the way, took my PFA (physical fitness assessment) and did well, which relieved a few of my worries. And I passed my second-class swim test with flying colors, which surprised me, since I didn’t even know if I would pass. It looks a lot worse than it is. Overall, a productive weekend, though I’m not so sure the word ‘enjoyable’ would be in order.

And now I have to go back to my real life, which means doing all the assignments that I didn’t have time for over the weekend on the few hours of sleep I got before PT this morning (which was actually fun; we did a few exercises and played soccer). So I have a to-do list that’s over a page long, plus my calendar, to work out, and people keep sending me emails with more things to do. But it’s getting there; I’ve knocked out my priorities this morning. Tonight I’m doing three different things and won’t have time to do homework, but I think I’ll be alright.

So yes, classes have finally fallen into a normal routine, after what – three weeks? Assignments and readings proceed as mentioned on the syllabus, for the most part, and I can settle in and get done what I need to do. And incidentally, there’s nothing like spending from 5:15 in the morning to 8:00 at night getting yelled at across town to make your dorm room feel like home.

There are still, of course, some extra-curriculars to work out. As you know if you saw my facebook status, I made it into the a cappella group I auditioned for. They’re called Under Construction, and they are Harvard’s Christian a cappella. They had an audition and two call-backs, and I met a lot of great people and got to hear everybody sing. They are great people, I’ve been blessed just by auditioning, and I can’t wait to start singing with them!

That said, I’m still trying to work my schedule out between a cappella and sections and ROTC commitments and Christian groups and other things that keep popping up. But all in all, those are just minor problems that need to be ironed out. Or at least, that’s what I keep telling myself. Things are coming along at rocket speed here, but so far I seem to be alright. I’m not planning more than a couple days ahead though; I’m just taking it one day at a time, keeping a close eye on my calendar, and trying not to overload.

That said, I still have a philosophy paper to plan for, ROTC reading to review, and a few other things to get done today, so it’s about time to mark this off my to-do list and get stepping. I hope you all have a great week, and pray for all us college students as we attempt to balance our lives without tripping and dropping anything terribly important!

 

PS - I write these on Monday, but by the time I can proof and post them it's Tuesday, so you're getting thing a day later. The last picture, by the way, is a one-day to-do list that I wrote during the less busy part of the last week. But as you can see, things do eventually get done.