Some ramblings for the Class of 2010

Colleges and Universities A-Z Naval Academy - Annapolis
1

<p>Bear with me....</p>

<p>In one of my first threads, I thought I’d have some fun and spice things up a bit with some colorful embellishments. Not this time. This time it’s serious. DAMNED serious. I’m posting this now so you will all have time to read it, ask questions, and get answers. I’ll be able to provide some, but I’m really hoping our resident current Mids chime in. </p>

<p>So off we go…</p>

<p>Well, here you are. It’s been a long, hard road, but you’re here. You have a right to feel proud of your accomplishments, and a right to be excited about the opportunities and challenges that now lay before you. Congratulations!</p>

<p>Some of you already know what you’re going to do. Others don’t have a clue how to answer that aside from, “Wake up tomorrow morning, not having quit today.” Both answers are right and wrong, but you’ll figure that out for yourselves soon enough. You might be surprised by the answer you come up with.</p>

<p>You are about to embark on a great and noble endeavor, one that will challenge you in ways you never dreamed you could be. You will have to dig deep into yourself to find the strength to keep going. The physical part is tough, but if a slug like me could do it, you can. The academic portion will be extremely challenging, but I’m no Einstein, and I managed. No, the toughest part is going to be finding the fascinating combination of patience and drive, tolerance and rage, relaxation and intensity, which you will need to have to make it through the place. Only one person can find that: YOU.</p>

<p>You WILL be scared. We all were. It’s normal. Some of you will be away from home for the first time. Others will have years of college and/or military experience under their belts. Those of you who are stronger must help carry those who are weaker until they grow strong enough. There will be times when the roles are reversed. That’s what makes Academy Classmates so special, and completely unlike anything you will find at any other university, no matter how prestigious. For NAPSters it will be an even stronger bond.</p>

<p>At your age, you think you will live forever. You won’t. Don’t make the mistakes that I did and allow wonderful opportunities to pass you by for temporary pleasures or conveniences. I would give my life to be able to attend USNA again knowing what I know now. You have no idea just how much you can do at this place, or how much you can learn, and not just about the Navy or Military. Take every opportunity. Enjoy everything you can possibly enjoy, and learn everything you can cram into your brain.</p>

<p>Don’t be overly afraid of the upperclassmen. That wild-eyed, high-and-tight-wearing, muscles-the-size-of-Bournemouth-packing maniac chewing you out because you couldn’t remember the 6th General Order was standing right where you are only 24 months ago. If he can do it, or if this broken-down has-been typing this can do it, then why can’t you?</p>

<p>Don’t make the mistake, as a Plebe or later as an upperclassman, of thinking that the Plebe System is a model of effective leadership. It isn’t. IMO, it’s one of the worst, but it serves its purpose, which is to weed out the weak. If you can’t handle someone yelling at you, how will you manage someone SHOOTING at you? Learn the lessons, then apply them when the time comes.</p>

<p>You WILL screw up. Period. It happens. Don’t be afraid of failure for failure’s sake. Instead, fear having failed because you didn’t give it your all, or because you quit. The upperclassmen and your classmates will admire and respect someone who fails but didn’t quit, over someone who quit, and therefore never found out if he would have succeeded. It’s a lesson that will serve you well in life.</p>

<p>Speaking of life, forget the one you had. Sure, you’ll still have your family, and even some friends from High School, but the life they will be leading will be so different than what you are going through that they will not be able to relate. Your parents will try (cut them some slack, you’re their kid), and your former friends will encourage you (if they’re not too busy getting smashed), but the ones to look to on a day-to-day basis are those other bald, skinny, scared, sweating, smelly kids around you wearing that ridiculous blue-rimmed Dixie cup with you. THEY are your support mechanism now. </p>

<p>You have earned the right to be there. You will be told otherwise, but the FACT is you worked your butt off to get this appointment. SO what are you prepared to do about it? Are you going to succeed, or are you going to join that company where they house the quitters, the ones that no one respects, and no one is allowed to speak to? The ones you see eating in King Hall in silence, unbothered by the upperclassmen, while the rest of the class continues pushing forward as a team?</p>

<p>Like I said in the thread title, I’m rambling. The problem is that I’m sitting here, remembering what it felt like to be on the verge of finally becoming a Midshipman, and also remembering everything that you are about to go through, and the incredible shock I felt when I saw the difference, and the urge to scream out “Wait! LISTEN! It’s DIFFERENT than they told you! WAKE UP! This is not a GAME!” becomes irresistible. Maybe I’ll add some more later when my brain is on a better track than it is now. </p>

<p>In short: Congratulations. You CAN do it. Never, EVER, quit. Don’t miss opportunities presented to you. This is not a game.</p>

<p>That is all.</p>

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<p>WOW! What more can I say? :)</p>

3

<p>Thanks Zaph</p>

4

<p>Zaphod- Are you going to find a reason to be in Annapolis on I-Day? I have no doubt that all of the parents of the entering class from this forum would love to connect with you that day. The Plebes themselves will be too busy as you well know. I am sure that the Alumni Association would love to have another volunteer help with the picnic for the parents and family!</p>

5

<p>I have been critical of many posts that you have made. . . this is the most mature and insightful post that I have seen you make.</p>

<p>As I edge into full-blown, middle-agedom, having had successes and failure alike, I can affirm much of what you have said.</p>

<p>"Don’t make the mistakes that I did and allow wonderful opportunities to pass you by for temporary pleasures or conveniences"</p>

<p>Any of us that are not where we thought we would be at this point in life [which includes me, even though I have a GREAT wife, GREAT kids, and material possessions that many, many people would consider symbols of success], wish that somebody at various times would have pushed us a bit harder, told us to stay the course, to "suck it up," etc. But you don't want to hear that from some 50-year old guy, an age that you can't even imagine being. So, listen to a nearly-40 year old who is young enough to remember the "good ol' days" and old enough to see them slipping away.</p>

<p>You live life in 20-year segments. Your first 20 years, you don't have enough sense to know how good you have it. Your next 20-years, you spend so much time having a good time that you can't imagine it ending. Between 40 and 60, you spend much time longing for your 20s. Between 60 and 80, you just enjoy waking up. If you make it past 80, you won't even remember the good times.</p>

<p>Back to sleep</p>

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<p>Thank you Zaphod. I have already printed this out and will be posting it on my frig, hopefully for four years.</p>

<p>As I know you have stated, I-Day is a Wednesday, have to work. I understand. Please know that you have a place to stay if you can change your mind. Better yet, you also have a place to stay come PPW - may be all the better.</p>

<p>Again, thank you my friend. I say this without ever having actually met you but, something inside tells me we would connect, we have connected.</p>

<p>Be safe and God bless.</p>

<p>wvdad</p>

7

<p>Thanks again for the kind words. I'm just trying to do my part for the next generation.</p>

<p>Sadly, I will be unable to attend I-Day this year. Gonna be getting ready to see the little ones the following week.</p>

<p>More to follow. Boss finally showed up! ;)</p>

8

<p>Awww...Zaphod, you're going to make a great BGO! Have you ever thought of writing a booklet (perhaps, Inspirational Talks for Midshipmen)? Parents could take it and read it out loud when they don't know what to say (just kidding). Thanks. This is really great to read after a day at school. I mean, it just means more coming from a graduate rather than someone who has just seen the academy from afar.</p>

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<p>Continuing...</p>

<p>No one likes a whiner. It's one thing to bellyache, but a whiner just ets on EVERYONE'S nerves. Complaining about how many rates you need to know or how hard some upperclassman is riding you or how you got flamed for a bad rack isn't going to solve the problem. Knowing your rates and making your rack correctly will. </p>

<p>Some guys will speak openly about the stress and so forth. It doesn't make them wimps. My NAPS roomate and I cried on each other's shoulder about 10 days into Indoc because we both wanted to go home, but refused to leave the other guy alone in this hell. He sat about four seats to my left at Graduation five years later. Some people suck it up, others talk. That's fine, but become a whiner, and your life will be made miserable by your classmates, let alone the upperclassmen.</p>

<p>There is a difference between motivation and reckless or false bravado. A quiet determination and obvious drive to excel will always be taken more seriously and respected more than all the crazy stunts, chants, and other "motivational" junk you can list. You want to impress the upperclassmen and get them off your back? Simple: MAKE EXCELLENCE YOUR MINIMUM STANDARD, always strive to acheive it, and help your classmates acheive it. You don't have to be PERFECT, but you must not accept anything less than EXCELLENCE.</p>

<p>No one gives a damn how many clubs you were in, or how many sports you played, or that you were elected to shag the homecoming queen after the big win. So was everyone else to your right and left. You are no longer the star. You are simply one star among many. You want to be a star at USNA? Start busting your butt all over again. Oh, and help your classmates do the same.</p>

<p>Don't allow yourself to lose sight of the primary goal: COMPLETING THE CURRENT EVOLUTION WITH EXCELLENCE. It is not Parent's Weekend, or Christmas Leave, or Herndon, or even Graduation. Set your sights too far forward and you will either get discouraged and quit, or you will lose sight of the present and not excel, then pay the price later (I know that from painful experience). You want to be a SEAL? GREAT! You have to know your Table Salt first; you have to pass chemistry first, you have to have a GPA that will allow you to walk into Smoke Hall that night just over three years from now and pluck the BUDS billet off the board. If you don't, I don't care how many pushups you can do or how far you can run, you'll be going SWO. Congratulations.</p>

<p>There are few things worse at USNA than being miserable on Service Selection Night, and watching your friends partying because they got what they wanted, but you're stuck on some tender somplace awful because you didn't crack down and study. I would save you that pain, because I lived it, and it simply SUCKS.</p>

<p>Remember to have fun. The place is not a dungeon, a concentration camp, or a prison. It's a military academy. You will be afforded ways of having fun that the schmucks at Podunk U could only dream of. Oh, and wearing that uniform home has all kinds of benefits, too. ;) Join clubs and activities. Play in sports. Attend shows and plays in Maury Hall (You'll be surprised how good they can be). Go out when allowed and enjoy yourself. It will be a good lesson to appreciate the simple things in life. I've only been learning that recently, and the hard way. Take advantage of these four years and make them work FOR you.</p>

<p>Be prepared to face the consequences if you roll the dice and draw snake eyes. So you went and hung a "BEAT ARMY" banner on the Washington Monument one night after taps, eh? Be prepared to serve the restriction if you get caught. Some would consider it a good trade. I'm not saying one way or the other, simply that if you take risks, be prepared to face the music if it goes bad.</p>

<p>Don't do anything stupid. You've worked too damned hard to get to wear that rediculous little dixie cup to throw it all away on something like an honor offense, or a bad conduct offense, or a blown grade you could have avoided. Never turn your brain off. Don't drink underage. Don't drink so you fall over. Keep your hands to yourself. Never discredit the uniform. Leave that idiocy to the moonbats at St. John's College. You're better than that.</p>

<p>If there is one thing that will send an upperclassmen into orbit, or your classmates diving for cover around you, it's being a Sea Lawyer. Don't ever try to weasle out of a duty, an answer, or a responsibility by citing regulations. No one is going to order you to machine-gun children or rape your roomate. If you are ordered to do 50 pushups and the max is 25, bite your damned tongue and pump out the 50. No one ever said life was fair.</p>

<p>I'm off to make (more like "burn") some dinner, and to continue to unpack. I'll see what else comes tumbling out of my brain.</p>

<ul>
<li>Z</li>
</ul>

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<p>Oh, one more thing in its own post so it won't be missed...</p>

<p>I know very well that it's easier to sit and type about this stuff than to live up to it. I can safely say that I lived up to about 75% of it. Looking back, it wasn't good enough. I could, and SHOULD, have done better.</p>

<p>Regardless, I make no excuses, nor have I lost sight of how difficult living up to the standard can be.</p>

<p>You don't have to like it. You just gotta DO it, or spend the rest of your life looking back and wondering "What if?"</p>

<p>BTDT, and it's no fun. Trust me. Take every opportunity you get, grab it by the throat, and beat it into submission. It'll serve you well in life.</p>

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<p>Zaphod~
You are an amazing man...willing to share all your wonderful wisdom. Our family is just beginning this journey with my son's acceptance into NASS 2nd session. These past couple of months I have read out loud many of your postings or should I say "ramblings" and we all hope we get to meet as my son says.."this awesome guy!" I only wished you lived out in California and could be my son's BGO! Anyway, my son will also be attending the USNA baseball camp in August. Would love to bump into you!! My husband wants to buy you a beer!! Anyway, talk about rambling, keep your thoughts coming and thanks again!!!!!</p>

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<p>Yeesh...I think Zaphod would implode on himself if he had to live in Kalifornia.</p>

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<p>zaphod, your words are like music to my ears...for someone who's btdt you have so much wisdom...you are soo my inspiration to continue to give my all...fighting my way through HS has been a battle, emotionally mentally...I'm only 17 and I just now realized life begins with you...you are the driver in the seat...I had a friend who told me you can make yourself think anything...and it's true. Everyday before I go to bed, I thank God for the opp. to go to NAPS, I really almost turned it down. BTW, when i opened one of my Bibles last night, i found a letter i wrote to God asking him is this where he wanted me to go. He answered me when I got ''accepted'', so ''yes'' is the answer, but I didn't realize it until last night when i was thinking "God, if being in the navy will hender my relationship with you or my faith, take it away. Can I really answer to mans order?'' 8 months ago i wrote God a letter and he replied, in it i said ''if this is truly where you want me give my heart the desire to look to no other school but here, no matter how many offers...the offers poured...but I had assurance.....Thanks</p>

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<p>
[quote]
Yeesh...I think Zaphod would implode on himself if he had to live in Kalifornia.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I'd blow my brains out.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
God, if being in the navy will hender my relationship with you or my faith, take it away.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>In the Service, you will find some of the most fiercely devout believers you'll ever meet. People who can recite the technical schematics of nuclear reactors by rote, then rattle off verse after verse of Scripture.</p>

<p>The Navy will not adversely affect your relationship with the Lord one iota.</p>

<p>While we're on the subject, don't be afraid to seek out the Chaplains at the Academy. Unless the ACLU has managed to get their filthy little snouts into the Academy, Sunday mornings are set aside for Plebes to attend Divine Services. When I was there, Sunday mornings were our time to simply relax, call home, go to church, whatever. I got good at sleeping in my chair. </p>

<p>Assuming that time is still available, you can seek the Chaplains out in the Chaplain Center (which used to be in Mitscher Hall, if it isn't now). Some of the most gentle souls I met while at USNA were the Chaplains, not because they were wimps, but rather because you could tell they were there to help you on a different level than anyone else. It's a useful resource; don't be afraid to use it.</p>

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<p>You have all heard the comment before: "What the heck am I learning this for? I'm never going to use it!"</p>

<p>You may be tempted to use that logic at USNA. Don't.</p>

<p>The fact is, you will use a surprising amount of it. Sure, you may not be balancing glucose equations, but when the water chemistry in the Primary Loop goes awry, you'll use part of it for sure. Don't make the mistake of thinking that just because you studied Economics, you won't need Fluid Dynamics. You may be an Econ major, but that CIWS mount you're in charge of as the FCO (Fire Control Officer) doesn't move around on hamster power. It moves based on hydraulics, and when FC2 Schmuckatelli is explaining to you how the high-speed Whamadine caused the Hoozit to crack the casing on the Whatchamacallit, and therefore the Hydraulic doohicky isn't working, you'd better be able to do something more impressive than just standing there with your thumb up your ass.</p>

<p>Along the same lines, you may find yourself wondering why you are made to memorize all these "useless" rates. Well, it's not the rates that are important, it's the ability to assign things to memory. Just like a muscle, the brain needs exercise. Your ability to quickly memorize the menus, the Officers of the Watch, the events in the Yard, the Days, etc., translate directly into being able to remember your course, speed, rudder angle, propeller pitch, shaft RPM, time-to-turn, power-plant lineup, firemain lineup, and the ID and CPA of 30+ skunks while standing OOD in the dark while passing through the Straits of Gibraltar.</p>

<p>Oh, and the yelling in your face while required to answer all this crap?</p>

<p>It translates into keeping all the information I listed above clear in your mind when suddenly you lose steering, experience high water in 1A Boiler, have three skunks CBDR, and the Captain is yelling at you to find the CHENG because his shower has no hot water. </p>

<p>(Note: If the CO is worried about hot water at a time like that, start worrying. He's lost his mind.)</p>

<p>So study your rates. There is a method to the madness.</p>

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<p>Zaphod-</p>

<p>GOD BLESS YOU!!!</p>

<p>-gypsycl</p>

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<p>Gotta weigh in on the Chaplain thing folks</p>

<p>When my hubby was a mid 68-72...for a great deal of the time he had a specific Chaplain. This man really ministered God's love to my husband, who was the son of a Lutheran pastor and was still in shock over the hazing, etc. of those Academy years...(stuff that NO ONE is allowed to do now...and trust me, it was brutal at times.)</p>

<p>Fast forward to 1975 and I'm newly engaged to the cutest Lt/jg in the USNavy! We're at my home in Newport Beach, CA and my fiancee says he notices his former USNA Chaplain is speaking at a nearby church and giving the sunday sermon. So we went, and I was introduced to the person who had alot of spiritual influence on my man at the Academy.</p>

<p>Fast forward to 1984...we are living in Vista, CA - in San Diego County and we read in the paper that this former Chaplain is now the pastor of a local church. While we have a church home, several times a year, we trek over to services to greet him and reminisce together. We visit from time to time together, and we stay in touch through phone calls..etc.</p>

<p>Fast forward to 2000. Hubby has been out of USNA how many years????? We are sitting in a local restaurant and who walks by but this former Chaplain and his wife. We sit and chat and the wife says with a gleam in her eye: "We're going to be NEIGHBORS!"...and learned that they bought a home on our street 10 houses away!</p>

<p>We pass their home multiple times a day going in and out to town.</p>

<p>Guess who was one of the first persons I personally spoke to when our daughter, back in Oct. got her LOA to USNA...and guess who is coming to her going away/graduation party next month?</p>

<p>So you see, you NEVER know how God builds relationships through the Chaplain program there at USNA!</p>

19

<p>Message to Zaph....</p>

<p>Thanks for this thread</p>

<p>keep writing like this :-)</p>

<p>with love
peskemom, the cookie deliverer!</p>

20

<p>Morning everyone, just a quick note before "running" off.</p>

<p>peskemom - unbelievable. How the Lord works is just incredible. You, Z, and ALL the outstanding folks on this site - God bless you all. You have touched my heart and are a comfort I cannot describe.</p>

<p>Sorry for rambling, I, well, thank you, have a great day and may the Lord follow and protect you always.</p>

<p>I love you folks. wvdad.</p>