<p>I think the excitement wears off about the time you get on the bus and think "what was I thinking?"</p>
<p>yep that was exactly what I was thinking already having gone thru a bmt and a whole year of... BS at the p school haha</p>
<p>What was the hardest thing to deal with during BCT?</p>
<p>for me, homesickness. my po box was broken for the first week-worst thing ever.
after we finally got that taken care of, it wasn't nearly so bad because i looked forward to writing and receiving letters. (before i came here, the longest i'd ever been away from my family was 5 days)</p>
<p>i wrote home about every other day. i think that's rather atypical, and they'll tell you not to write that often (because frequently i wrote for 10 minutes before going to sleep, and you really should be sleeping), but it helped me a lot. also, everyone who wrote me got a quick note back.</p>
<p>yes, eagle, woe is me ;)</p>
<p>Being constantly tired was probably the worst for me.</p>
<p>i really just wanted to sit down!</p>
<p>i got you beat missmuff. i wrote home every night, even saturday's when i knew there was no mail the next day. of course i also recieved daily mail from my mom, and at least one letter from each of my friends throughout basic (my mom gave my friends pre-addressed and stamped envelopes)</p>
<p>so mail definetely helped me through. the hardest part for me was just keeping my spirits up and pushing through.</p>
<p>and as for the bus, i did actually consider (although only for a brief second) not getting off. its just that stressful and nerve-wrecking</p>
<p>our cadre didnt take us to the mailroom for the first week of basic. talk about terrible..</p>
<p>worst things were standing in lines, being perpetually exhausted, and no sleep... you'll definitely bond with your cadre. as crazy as it sounds, we had a lot of awesome times with both sets, 1st and 2nd beast. they're the ones i respect the most (for the most part) in our squad now.</p>
<p>individual cadre will be spending more time with basics now too, since they're cutting down on BCT flight staffs...</p>
<p>Eagle, is that good thing, or a bad thing? lol</p>
<p>what do you mean eagle? how many cadre per flight?</p>
<p>1st beast, we had Flight/CC, Asst Flight/CC, and 4 element leaders.. </p>
<p>2nd we had Flt/CC and 4 element leaders</p>
<p>Back to the BCT schedule that was posted, does every basic cadet take all the placement exams?</p>
<p>eagle- would you say that the bus ride is one of the most tempting spots to throw in the towel? My mom works with a lady whose son went to I-day this last year and he didn't get off the bus. Is there really any way to prepare for the ride?</p>
<p>just mentally prepare yourself.</p>
<p>**Prepare yourself mentally and physically thats the best advice any person can give for BCT.</p>
<p>Yes you all take the placement exams.</p>
<p>The kid who didn't get off the bus really didn't want to be there. Psych yourself help to embrace the challenge, and take it one day at a time. Before you blink you will be an upperclassman and some of these 2012's will be on group or wing staff. It goes that fast.</p>
<p>its a bit freaky, yes. all i had to think about as soon as that thought came along was what my friends and family would say if i showed back up at home "as a quitter" (in my mind). then i had to get off that bus, and i'm ever so glad i did</p>
<p>That's a lot of work to not even try, IMO.<br>
Sure, there are people who should not come to the academy...buy why the heck would you accept an appointment if you aren't going to even try to make it past the 5 minute mark? /mini rant</p>
<p>If you go through the process and accept an appointment, you owe it to yourself to go more than 5 minutes before deciding to quit.</p>
<p>don't worry about it now. as gasdoc said, the kids who never got off the bus didn't really want to be there.</p>
<p>yes, you get that fleeting, "WHAT AM I DOING WITH MY LIFE RIGHT NOW???" feeling, but if it's not motivation that keeps you there, it's that fear of going back home, admitting defeat when the game hasn't even started, as eagle stated.</p>
<p>it's going to be challenging. I hope all of you potential 2013ers know this. If you don't think it will be, you probably don't belong here, and don't waste a slot that was open for someone who was up to the challenge.</p>
<p>don't worry though. if i can do it, i'm certain anyone who wants it can :) (i am a very emotional being, but i got over that in basic...it comes back every so often, but it sure as heck didn't during basic! lol)</p>
<p>to add on to raimus' statement, i think you owe it to yourself and everyone who had enough faith in you to give you that appointment to stick it through not only 5 minutes, but 'til recognition. 9 months of your life...big deal!</p>
<p>Good advice... I will definitely keep in mind when I'm thinking "wow, this seemed like a great idea when I was applying."</p>
<p>I'm pretty sure for most people, "Get off my bus" meant get off the bus, as quickly as possible, not "you have a choice to stay on or get off" (although if you listen to the speech, that's actually what they're saying). I mean, I would be afraid of staying on the bus with that cadre on the way down, especially if you quit that early in the game. Trust me, when the time comes and you truly want to be here, you'll get off that bus.</p>
<p>"it's that fear of going back home, admitting defeat when the game hasn't even started, as eagle stated."
That won't keep you here. I know of at least one cadet who thought that way, and yet still left in basic (to the chagrin of their parents). You need to give honest effort.</p>