<p>My least favorite is "hey, why do you want to kill people for a living?
Yes - gaining admission to an academy can bring negative responses as well as positive ones. Both can be difficult to deal with.</p>
<p>My older brother really wanted to go to West Point, but ended up somewhere else on ROTC. Now, I'm into the Naval Academy (which I think I subconsciously persued more zealously because it would be different from what he wanted), and he doesn't even want to come to I-Day. We're not extremely close (we're both close with our parents, but he acts like I'm a bug on the wall), but come on! This is once in a lifetime. Not to mention that I went to EVERYTHING he had to do when he went to college. It just kind of hurts that he doesn't care enough to see how the other half lives - considering he didn't even apply to the Naval Academy, it's not that I'm trying to throw it in his face (which I think is what he thinks). I really just want our family to have a couple more days together since family time will be so sparse in the future.</p>
<p>You all know, there will always be rude people and rude questions about this (and many other topics!) that you will have to deal with in your life. You need to find one or two responses that you feel comfortable with and have them ready to go.</p>
<p>DD got really tired of the question "Have you decided where you are going to school yet?" and wanted to have a T-shirt printed that said, "No, I don't know where I'm going to school yet!" on it!</p>
<p>We're from a small town and many people know and care about her and want to know how she's doing--this is their way of showing it. I told her to expect the questions to change over the years: From "Where are you going to school?" to "When do you plan to graduate?" to "Do you have a job yet?" to "Do you have someone in your life?" to "When are you getting married?" and on to children..... That's just life...</p>
<p>Wow guys. This thread took a turn and is now one big therapy vent. I had no idea really, that you kids are getting hammered so hard. Guess the pressure stays the same even after you get appointments and the like. And Marm, brothers are just brothers dang it all. They can be so troublesome. Could be a little jealously, could be a little need to grow up some. Maybe since he is in ROTC, he doesn't want to actually witness first hand what he knows you're going to have to go through (but you'll never know that). Hard to say with brothers. They are odd creatures. You could always do what happens in my house... The younger one tells the older one that he wants some respect, tears the cheeto's bag out of his hands, hits him then runs with it. Seems to settle most of it. The older brother respected him so much that he photo copied his rear pieces and sent it to him during indoc signed "Best Wishes" after I got onto him for not writing. Brotherly love is how you see it in the big scheme of things. It will change down the road & I hope its for the better for you. And that you don't end up with a brother like ^</p>
<p>I'm a twin too. Not planning on getting an appointment, instead go through ROTC. My sis and I were always driven to be close but in a unique way. We actually never had the same group of friends etc. We now do hang out with some of the same people but for the most part it still varies and its nice because we like being individuals, considering some people consider us the same. We've come across jealousy rivals but who doesn't?. My folks are glad we both know where and what we want to do in life and are glad we both shine in our own way.
Getting an appointment to a service academy is an endeavor that takes a long time and is worth the hard work, which takes too much preparation for a very imperative reason. The siblings of cadets who once were unsure of themselves b/c of what attention his/her cadet sibling was getting will mature into an understanding of how this uniqueness has forced an attention in an inadvertently way. That individual will hopefully come to appreciate the situation and find his/her talent and shine just as bright, knowing the parents are just as proud.</p>
<p>I am absolutely loving all the twins here lately! I especially love to see that so many of you are pursuing your very own interests and are not seen as a unit, i.e. "the twins".</p>
<p>Last night I was reminded of that great phrase, "You can pick your nose, but not your relatives!" In an ideal world, we would all get along. It's not and you can spend a lot of time and angst over your relationships. So do the best you can and get on with your life. If you can't be kind, at least be civilized. That applies to parents, children, in-laws, brothers, sisters, out-laws, cousins, etc. The good news is that sibling rivalry often improves once you grow up and are living your own life. But this is not an ideal world -- that doesn't help today and sometimes it doesn't work out. If you grab the chips, expect retaliation!</p>
<p>Yes, I know it is properly," You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family." But that didn't go with grabbing cheetos and running!</p>
<p>Hey I have question... I am just starting to go through the application process for class of 2011 and I was wondering anyone here have much younger siblings or son or daughter becasue I am wondering how they took when their older sibling for lack of a better word "took off", especially a plane ride away. I have younger siblings who are 7, 10, and 12 especially the youngest one he and I are really close.</p>