Busy, Busy, Dreadfully Busy*

Well, in a matter of a couple of weeks, that relatively uneventful time I was having earlier in the semester seems like a fond dream. Everything is busy now; it’s crunch time in all sectors. I’m pulling back on Cru this week, thankfully, but I’m so busy being a Midshipman Platoon Commander that I’ve almost forgotten that I’m a college student; hopefully I’ll have time to remember before I take my four midterms next week (every class but Arabic and German).

I spent Thursday through Sunday at a Naval Leadership Conference in Notre Dame. I was skeptical at first, but it turned out to be a good and helpful experience. There were lots of good speakers, mostly flag officers, who restored my faith in the military bureaucracy. If you get past all the bluster and red tape and general hassle, the military includes individuals of incredibly strong character and competence, and it’s taught me a lot already.

Actually, I think ROTC and Harvard form a very good educational combination: each balances out the other’s vices. The military prioritizes tradition and uniformity, and thus conformity, and expects you to get the job done and follow the rules, whether you’re having a bad day or like it or not. There’s no deciding whether or not to show up on time; there’s no experimenting with new hair colors; there’s no excuses and no complaints about hurt feelings. Academia, on the other hand, prizes critical thought, diversity, and innovation. They expect you to question what’s going on and form your own opinions, and in college especially, personal development is mission accomplishment. They both have their strengths and their weaknesses, but I think they serve as nice counter-weights in my life.

The conference was run very smoothly by the Notre Dame Midshipmen; I was very impressed by the logistics, and that doesn’t usually happen. It was colder and snowier than Boston, but we were well-equipped to deal with it, so it wasn’t a big hassle. On Sunday we headed back to Boston and stopped at the USO in the airport, where we ran across two Command Master Chiefs who gave us some advice. This punctuated the strong sense of the military/veteran community that I’d been noticing all weekend, and reinforced my reasons for joining the Navy in the first place.

I’ve needed that reinforcement. For the past few days I’ve gone to bed wound up and immersed in ROTC and woken up the same way – not great for getting rest. This week in particular I’m swamped with work and meetings, none of which can be delegated. Every hour or so there’s a new email with something major that needs to be done in the next few days, and all of this in the middle of midterm season.

Still, things are going fine, if a little strained. My routine is slightly disrupted, but the routine itself is a barrier against my life balance in general, so as long as it isn’t dismantled entirely, I’m still doing fine; I just have to batter down and pick up the pace a little bit until Spring Break gives me some breathing room (pardon the mixed metaphors; I don’t have time to phrase this better). Some good things have happened as well: for one, I ordered my class ring yesterday. I’ll let you know more when it comes in, in about two months or so. In addition, we’ve been having gorgeous winter weather, and it’s a pleasure to walk outside.

It’s strange to realize how close we are to spring break. This is the first week I’ve been free to follow my laid-out weekly routine (or it would be, if I didn’t have so much work I had to modify it), but we’re almost halfway through the semester. I’ll talk a little more about this next week, but I think my resolutions are still intact, if a little battered. I’m slightly busier than I’d like to be on a regular basis, and I still haven’t caught up on sleep from the weekend, but I’m not overly worried. It’ll all get done; somehow, it always does.

Next week I’ll be posting on Wednesday, due to busyness, so I’ll let you know how midterms/the first half of the semester went. Good luck with your to-do list, whatever it entails, until next week!

*Shout-out to anyone who recognized these song lyrics. They're from the VeggieTales version of the Good Samaritan.

Pictures:

At the airport at 4:30 am, with three hours of sleep:

 Indiana:

 The Grotto (y'all probably know more about these places than I do):

 Touchdown Jesus:

 There were two of us in this room for the weekend.

 The first morning I woke up early and walked around outside. The rest of the mornings I woke up early and stayed in bed doing homework. It was cold!

 I may or may not have pretended for a few seconds that I was in Narnia.

 Preparing for the speakers:

 Our room on the last day:

 Back at the airport:

 One of the CMCs was kind enough to provide us with these...