Okay so I'm in my junior year of high school and I attend the Marine Math and Science Military Academy in Chicago. It's a public academy but selective enrollment by interview and because it is a military academy, MCJROTC is a required 4 year course for graduation. I'll be in the first graduating class (2011), and we don't have much to offer because of Chicago Public Schools budgeting. To me, this seems like a huge problem because from what I hear/read, other candidates are given way more opportunities to show off than I am.
In my freshman year I was on the [I]Fidelis[/I] staff (school journal.. which I named :)), drill team, and color guard. As a top cadet in my class, I was picked by my Commandant (Lieutenant Colonel Michael Stewart, USMC ret.) to attend two JROTC trips that year; The Army/Navy Game (Go Navy, Beat Army! We kicked their ass by the way!) and the Washington DC Trip (with about 50 other cadets from Chicago's JROTC programs). I was a squad leader and, if I remember correctly, I ended the year as a cadet Corporal.
Sometime at the beginning of the my sophomore year, I was promoted to a 2nd Lieutenant. At the beginning of the second semester, I actually transferred out of the school because I thought I didn't want to attend a military academy. I ended up transferring back after only one quarter because I missed JROTC so much and everything else I would complain about. Instead of drill and color guard, I joined cheerleading instead. If I could, I'd have chosen to do all three but the practices were at the same time and I love cheerleading a whole lot more than drilling. I ended the year as a platoon commander and a cadet 1st Lieutenant.
Between the summer of my sophomore and junior year, I was promoted to cadet Captain and Cadet S4 Logistics Officer. I spent a week in June and graduated from the Navy JROTC Leadership Academy at the Great Lakes Naval Base (best week of my life so far) and the Army JROTC Command and Staff Leadership Academy in September (boring and definitely not challenging; they don't know what real physical training is).
This year, I'm still a cheerleader and plan on joining track this spring. I also plan on writing for the school newspaper in my second semester and I've been invited to join the math team (USNA is a math and science academy so that'll look good on my application, right?). So far, I've gotten straight A's on every report card for every class with a GPA of 4.6 (because of honors courses and next semester, hopefully my school will offer AP classes).
Outside of school, I do community service for the Salvation Army, American Lung Cancer Association and other various non profit organizations whenever the chance pops up. I plan on signing up for Tae Kwon Do again, gymnastics (USNA cheerleader standards are way past my current abilities) and hopefully a local swim team. To improve myself academically, I plan on finding night and Saturday classes for Pre-Calc and Calc because I'm pretty positive that my school won't offer those before I graduate.
I know I want to choose Marine Corps option if I attend the Naval Academy and I want to either write or photograph (two of my passions in life) for Stars and Stripes. If that doesn't happen, I'd probably want to train to be an aviation pilot (if that is even offered to females? I'm not sure what is and what isn't). However, I'd much rather work in communications to let other people know, especially civilians, the truth about what is going on with our military. I'm sick of bias civilian reporters constantly putting down our troops because that's what the public wants to hear.
Right now, I've been instructed by my Gunny to write a letter to my congressman (Danny K. Davis) and introduce myself, letting him know I'm interested in the Naval Academy and would like his recommendation. However, I don't have any idea what I should introduce myself with. Any tips?
Besides that, I admit I haven't been loyal to my work out schedule since school has started and I was wondering about any work out routines that would be worth a try. I know about all of the PFT standards and I should probably get myself back in shape.
And finally, probably the most common question of all, what else should I do to get myself into the Academy?
Thanks for spending the time to read that long ass message haha. Any comments or tips are appreciated.
-Jade
P.S.: Just got back from the Navy/Notre Dame game. We kicked their Irish asses! Haha :)
Saturday, November 7, 2009
the USNA is definately what I want, but am I what the USNA wants?
Okay so, I posted this on College Confidential but if anybody sees this here too, please leave a comment :)
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Married Men
What is it that married men are supposed to do for fun out of the house on their own? They can't go to clubs. Going to the movies with a bunch of other dudes might make someone look gay (not that theres a problem with it, its just out there). going to the movies alone is boring. the bar with a bunch of guys is usually what they do im assuming but getting drunk isnt that great when you have to drive home.
so, what is it that married men are supposed to do for fun?
so, what is it that married men are supposed to do for fun?
The Backyard Stinks
Haha oh yeah, so I haven't really kept up with the 100 push ups, 200 squats, 200 sit ups thing. I'll start over from week 1 on all of them I think. No matter what my initial test says. Maybe in the winter I'll have more time at home to do it. And then by summer I'll be in such good shape with my pretty little face I'll be turning down play boy. lmfao. :) just kidding. my boobs dont have plastic. I don't qualify. lol.
The backyard stinks like dog crap. Even though Brandon picks it up, he doesnt make sure its all there. Theres like... squished litle bits everywhere. I'm going to hose the blue mats down I think... Yeah.
The backyard stinks like dog crap. Even though Brandon picks it up, he doesnt make sure its all there. Theres like... squished litle bits everywhere. I'm going to hose the blue mats down I think... Yeah.
Father-Daughter Time
Thursday went to eat at Joy Yees with my dad. Pretty fun :) He's goofy. We were just talking. It was nice. And then he starts being a show off again and its funnier. No wonder where I get it from. Then later in the night, I drove from Chicago to Downers Grove and back just to pick up my SS Card from my moms.
Friday was a mission. Then went to work with him. His crew is nice. The Marine and Sailor kept going back and forth on USMC vs USN stuff... naturally. Lol. Watched I Am Legend after spending an hour in Best Buy trying to find a movie to watch haha. Then started this one movie but I fell asleep. Ended up sleeping on the couch all night. Oh yeah. The drivers ed "eipic quest". Man, that's a mission to tell. I'll blog about it after I finally get my damn license. Stupid SOS.
Uhm not many details specifically to talk about because they aren't THAT funny. But I like spending time with my old man. :)
Today Anne started working at the Dry Cleaners again. So I've been home with my dad all day. Watching the kids, watching Band of Brothers, watching this one movie about a female soldier being given the Medal of Honor. I forgot what the movie is called though.
Friday was a mission. Then went to work with him. His crew is nice. The Marine and Sailor kept going back and forth on USMC vs USN stuff... naturally. Lol. Watched I Am Legend after spending an hour in Best Buy trying to find a movie to watch haha. Then started this one movie but I fell asleep. Ended up sleeping on the couch all night. Oh yeah. The drivers ed "eipic quest". Man, that's a mission to tell. I'll blog about it after I finally get my damn license. Stupid SOS.
Uhm not many details specifically to talk about because they aren't THAT funny. But I like spending time with my old man. :)
Today Anne started working at the Dry Cleaners again. So I've been home with my dad all day. Watching the kids, watching Band of Brothers, watching this one movie about a female soldier being given the Medal of Honor. I forgot what the movie is called though.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Worksheet 1: Focus on Fitness
| Worksheet 1: Focus On Fitness | |
| My Fitness Motivators and Health Benefits What motivates you to want to be physically active? Use the boxes on the right to check off (♥) what motivates you. Use the extra lines at the bottom to write down other reasons that you want to make fitness a part of your life. | ♥ Have more energy ♥ Release stress ♥ Keep my heart healthy ♥ Improve my overall health ♥ Manage my weight ♥ Improve my self-esteem  _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ |
| My Everyday Activities You can move your body more by changing your daily routine, such as walking instead of getting a ride. Check off some of the things that you could change, and write in a few of your own ideas, too. | ♥ Walking instead of driving or taking the bus ♥ Taking the stairs instead of the elevator ♥ Walk around while talking on the phone ♥ Go for a jog routinely ♥ Follow the 100pushups, 200situps, and 200squats program _______________________________ |
| My Other Physical Activities Other ways of exercising are physical activities such as riding your bike or playing a sport. These activities require more of your energy. Check off some other physical activities you enjoy, or write them in. | ♥ Riding my bike ♥ Playing a team sport ♥ Taking a dance class *once I can afford it ♥ Take up martial arts classes again *once I can afford it _______________________________ _______________________________ |
| My Time to Get Fit You need to make room in your busy schedule to make time for fitness. Think about ways to work a workout into you day. Check off or add some strategies that will help you make time for fitness. | ♥ Cut TV, internet, and video game time in half ♥ Take a friend, or a group of friends on a walk ♥ Schedule work-out time in my planner ♥ 0500 jogs _______________________________ _______________________________ |
| My Fitness Goals Having clear goals can help motivate you and keep you focused. Check off or write in your top three fitness goals for the next month. | ♥ Join a sports team, or learn a new sport ♥ Try a new dance or aerobics class *once I can afford it Try an exercise DVD ♥ Run a mile Start a walking club with friends _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ |
| Great job! You've finished your first worksheet. Now you're on your way to getting started with your new fitness program. Keep this sheet where you can see it to help you stay focused on your goals. | |
Friday, August 28, 2009
August 16, 2009
Tony broke up with me. It was only 4 months and 24 days.
Yes I'm hurt. But whatever, it wasn't really like we were much of a couple anyways.
Single again, babes! Whoo!
Yeah, its nice to have a boyfriend but if theres no one there that could give me all of the benefits of having one, I'm way better off without.
So, I'm not looking to go out with anyone right now. I'm going to get my life back together. I feel like a bitch for doing it, but I'm going to try to recontact everyone I pretty much ignored because I was with Tony. I didn't want to talk to the guys who have feelings for me and I could proabably develop feelings for when I was with him so I tried to lose contact. But now, that's over.
I'd say it was wrong for me to stop talking to friends over a guy but the situation called for it. And I know they would have done the same. You don't talk to the chick you been trying to get with when you have a new girlfriend!
But I'll always remember certain things about Tony. He's a good guy but I guess we both sucked at dating each other. We just weren't meant to be. But then again, I don't think I ever expected us to be. I mean, its high school. Come on. I'm just not that type of person.
Yes I'm hurt. But whatever, it wasn't really like we were much of a couple anyways.
Single again, babes! Whoo!
Yeah, its nice to have a boyfriend but if theres no one there that could give me all of the benefits of having one, I'm way better off without.
So, I'm not looking to go out with anyone right now. I'm going to get my life back together. I feel like a bitch for doing it, but I'm going to try to recontact everyone I pretty much ignored because I was with Tony. I didn't want to talk to the guys who have feelings for me and I could proabably develop feelings for when I was with him so I tried to lose contact. But now, that's over.
I'd say it was wrong for me to stop talking to friends over a guy but the situation called for it. And I know they would have done the same. You don't talk to the chick you been trying to get with when you have a new girlfriend!
But I'll always remember certain things about Tony. He's a good guy but I guess we both sucked at dating each other. We just weren't meant to be. But then again, I don't think I ever expected us to be. I mean, its high school. Come on. I'm just not that type of person.
Command and Staff Leadership School
Wasn't as great as I thought it would be. The best part of my days were chow and the evening activities.
Monday: Arrived at approximately 1100 to the RTC at Great Lakes Naval Base
Lunch Chow - The food wasn't as good as it was on the other side of the base. The cafeteria was for the recruits so it wasn't as nice either but it wasn't nasty. Duh. This was the best part of my day every time. Chow. The recruits would be in there with us too. We weren't allowed to interact though. But damn, they were sexy!
After Lunch - Class. Boring. Talked to SgtMaj about how the school is. Everything we usually do. For a few hours.
Dinner Chow - Again. Even if they're just recruits... wow!
After Dinner - Fire Fighting class thingy. It was fun. But the helmet was all nasty and gross. The gloves too. The thumb had a hole in it. Haha. But it was fun. Met Ozzy Flores and learned the Waffle Nation Hand shake lmfao! He's cool as hell. Anyways, we put out a fire that was never there. It was fun though. The guy who was briefing us was goofy. I forget his rank but his name was (rank) Gross. After that we went back to the barracks. I had fire watch during the night from 2300 to 2400 I think? I don't know but anyways, I know I had fire watch that night.
Tuesday: Reveille at 0400
Morning - We weren't actually supposed to wake up until 0500 but the girls who had Fire Watch woke everyone up at 0400. Formations were scheduled for 0515. PT was lame. We were mixed in with Army and Navy so it was kind of hard to do. The army didn't know the exercises that we do. And we had an Army cadet leading PT so it was slow and easy. Then Janet Landaros (she bunked with me) from Juarez led it and a lot of the non Marine Corps cadets were complaining it was too hard. Haha.
Breakfast Chow - Breakfast was actually really good. I forgot milk for my cheerios though. I had bacon and eggs.
After Breakfast - Class again with SgtMaj Smith. Then I asked to go change into my cammys
because the dress shoes from the service uniform were cutting my heel and I was bleeding. I changed, went back, but we were in a different class when I was finished ironing my sleeves. We were in some Communications class with (rank) Seeley USN. Boring. Then we went to another class on Styles of Leadership with some Major from the Army. Boring too.
Lunch Chow - Since I was in my cammys, I had a lot of attention when we were marching and in line for chow. It was pretty cool. Haha. I get conceited as hell when I'm in uniform.
After Lunch - We went to another class I think? I can't remember... But if we did, it was the one where we were told about the brief we had to do. Boring. We voted on who should be the following positions (we decided to give people a chance to step up and not go by rank) BC, XO, BTN SgtMaj, S1, S2, S3, S4, S5. It was: Johnson NJROTC, Wormley, NJROTC, Landaros MCJROTC, Wilson, MCJROTC, Knight NJROTC, S3 was some NJROTC cadet but I can't remember who, Nguyen MCJROTC, Taylor MCJROTC.
Dinner Chow - Again, not delicious but not disgusting. The recruits are so dedicated that they read their handbook in line. I guess its the smart thing to do since you probably hardly have time and they aren't allowed to talk anyways.
After Dinner - Okay, so this was sooo bad ass. We went to this big ol' gym and worked out like maniacs. The activities looked so simple but they were a work out! Stepping up and down stools, high stepping between hoops, carrying a sand man guy (Ozzy tripped and fell on him haha it was funny. A "You had to be there" moment.), lifting and tossing medicine balls, the pull up trainer, the sprinting, the jump roping, the squats with the little stretch things. All look so easy on their own but if you do it long enough (each station was only four minutes!) and the right way, its a work out! We were all super sore! Then we went to the barracks and the girls in the room had to split up who was going to clean what in the barracks. The Marines cleaned the heads that night.
Wednesday: Reveille at 0500
Morning: We got in trouble for being late to formations by the City Corps and then PT'd by groups and branch. Group 1 Navy together, Group 1 Army together, and Group 1 Marines together. Duh. It was pretty damn hard. I was surprised at how out of shape I really am. Worse than I thought I was. It was fun though.
Breakfast Chow - Same. as always. Forgot to grab milk for my cheerios again.
After breakfast - More classes. Worked on the brief that we had to present before we went for lunch chow at 1300 or something like that. I don't remember exact times. Anyways, we were supposed to brief to some guy or something from the Army at 1500. Finished up the slides on the presentation. PowerPoint projects are so annoying to me.
Lunch Chow - Nothing really different happens at chow. We just spend the time checking out the recruits because we aren't allowed to talk.
After Lunch - Anyways, we were supposed to present at 1500 but he said to start the presentation and he'll pop in because he wants to see some of it. And so we started but he didn't show up. So it was pointless because we ended up just briefing our imaginary unit to the same two people (Seeley and SgtMaj Smith) that were helping us build it. It was stupid. He never showed up. Except the good thing was that this guy from the City Corps came to the room and was watching us. He was army but looked good in uniform. Haha.
Dinner Chow - Again, nothing different. Recruit Dee was one of the guys that I was like "wow" to (in my head, of course) and then when I was so rudely staring (without realizing) he looked at me and I swear I blushed so hard I turned red. Haha.
After Dinner - We went to that one place with the ship and we pretended to deport and port from the pier. It was some Petty Officer whatever class that looked (I swear on Snoopy's life) EXACTLY like Juan De La Torre from Leadership Academy. If I didn't know better, I would have thought it was him. Same fat nose, same adorable face, same sarcastic sense of humor, same height, scarily similar voice. It was crazy. I asked him if he was related to Juan but he said no and I told him why I asked and he's like "Is that a good or bad thing?" It was definitely a good thing. After the exercise we found out that his nickname from Peach's (another Petty Officer he works with) daughter is Lil Mama. Haha. But back to the activity. It was fun! I was the line captain! I felt important. Haha. They threw a dummy in the water and they all yelled "Man Overboard" or something. Then someone threw a life jacket over but like... super far away and Lil Mama was all like "Oh great! You threw a life jacket! But too bad its 100 feet away! I guess something is better than nothing!" Back to the barracks. Had night watch again from 0400 to 0500 with Cepeda.
Thursday: Reveille at 0500
Morning - PT was a pain because we were all sore from the day before.
Breakfast Chow - I forgot milk again! I was so mad!
After Breakfast - More classes. Boring. First one was about Bases of Leadership and Influence Approaches. I kept falling asleep. And somehow, as much as I did, he didn't make me stand up. But Lauren fell asleep for like a second and he had her stand up and some Army pup in the back. I actually would have rather to stand but it seemed like I was getting away with sleeping so I didn't stand on my own. Then we went to the next class with some guy who was a really good teacher. It was a class on Management and he was telling us theres a difference between leadership and management. He had some good stories to tell. I didn't fall asleep. He made Juan Herrera laugh! I was so surprised! I liked that class the most, I think.
Lunch Chow - On the way to the chow hall, we heard one of the recruits calling cadence. Bad ass cadence! Of course you can't hear it by reading but all he was saying was "your one, two; your two,your three,your four." But oh my gosh, it made everyone in the platoon talk! It was so bad ass! I wish I knew who it was! Every time we would march by each other it was so catchy! Anyways... So I was in line and the recruits were right there eating and of course I have nothing better to do but pick out which ones the best looking. It happened to be Recruit Campbell this time. I looked at him for a second and he was looking at me already too. He was so wow! Seriously! And then he smiled and I smiled. Haha. His teeth are really white. So yeah. That was my eye candy of the day.
After Lunch - More classes. This time with the first Major in the Army that did the Styles of Leadership. We made a plan on how we were going to present the CPS Homeless Students fundraising thing and how we planned on executing the plan. It was very helpful but the guy is an asshole. I don't like him but I don't have to so whatever. He helped a lot is the main point.
Dinner Chow - Same thing. Sat with Tinoco from Carver Military Academy. I just remember that because she was asking me about my background and whatever. And it happened recently so it doesn't blend in with the other days like they all seem to do. Oh yeah, so, recruits aren't supposed to talk in the mess hall, but they were in line I saw. I mean, I'm sure they do it a lot but they're trying to hide it yet its just so obvious that it makes it funny.
After Dinner - We were supposed to clean the classrooms we used. They were actually barracks but we used them as classes. So whatever. Spent the night doing that. Someone stole some girls phone and we had our stuff checked. They didn't find it but then after we were all told to carry on, it magically appeared again in a place they already checked. We never found out who it was.
Friday: Reveille at 0500
Morning - I thought we were going to be able to sleep in but unfortunately that didn't happen. We PT'd by branch again. It was a lot easier today.
Breakfast Chow - We got to the mess hall early as hell but we still were being rushed like crazy. Oh yeah, I remembered to get milk for my cheerios! I was so happy! I love cheerios! And then when I sat down, I saw Soto (from Taft) with Frosted Flakes and I remembered that I told myself to get Frosted Flakes too. But I forgot. There weren't any recruits. They were all marching somewhere. I don't know. But I was kind of disappointed, I must admit. On the way back from chow though, we heard the guy with the bad ass cadence. I was squad leader every time but I still couldn't see his name tag. Too bad.
After Breakfast - Packed more. Cleaned our barracks and heads. Went to some speech thing from an Admiral. It wasn't long. The wait was about 45 minutes. The speeches took about 30? I was falling asleep during the Admiral's speech and almost fell forward. I felt so rude. I tried to play it off but I bet everyone facing the cadets noticed. Its so embarrassing. But maybe they should make their speeches a little more exciting like the guy who taught the Management class did! After they were done, we walked out by bus, grabbed a sack lunch, reported to the bus, and went on our way.
Back in Chicago - We got back around 1400. Master Sergeant drove a few MCJROTC cadets home. I was home around 1445. First thing I did was eat a Reese's cup and open a can of soda. No wonder I'm so out of shape. I really want to keep up the PT at 0530 routine but I doubt it'll last long. Especially with school coming up next week. I guess I'd have to PT at 0400 and sleep at 0900. I doubt that will happen but I'm going to try!
All in all, it wasn't too bad. But it wasn't my favorite thing either. Between the three events I've participated in this summer my favorites list would go like this:
1. Navy JROTC Leadership Academy
2. Command and Staff Leadership School
3. Young Marines Summer Encampment
So yeah. I was just thinking right now that it'd be pretty cool if I saw Campbell or Dee or some recruit that was at the base at the same time I was for this sometime in the future. I'm going to remember those two names forever no matter if I want to or not. I know it. Its just one of those things. But the difference is from now, I'll be a Marine instead of a Marine Cadet.
Oorah! (Hooah sounds so stupid! Glad I don't have to hear it anymore!)
Monday: Arrived at approximately 1100 to the RTC at Great Lakes Naval Base
Lunch Chow - The food wasn't as good as it was on the other side of the base. The cafeteria was for the recruits so it wasn't as nice either but it wasn't nasty. Duh. This was the best part of my day every time. Chow. The recruits would be in there with us too. We weren't allowed to interact though. But damn, they were sexy!
After Lunch - Class. Boring. Talked to SgtMaj about how the school is. Everything we usually do. For a few hours.
Dinner Chow - Again. Even if they're just recruits... wow!
After Dinner - Fire Fighting class thingy. It was fun. But the helmet was all nasty and gross. The gloves too. The thumb had a hole in it. Haha. But it was fun. Met Ozzy Flores and learned the Waffle Nation Hand shake lmfao! He's cool as hell. Anyways, we put out a fire that was never there. It was fun though. The guy who was briefing us was goofy. I forget his rank but his name was (rank) Gross. After that we went back to the barracks. I had fire watch during the night from 2300 to 2400 I think? I don't know but anyways, I know I had fire watch that night.
Tuesday: Reveille at 0400
Morning - We weren't actually supposed to wake up until 0500 but the girls who had Fire Watch woke everyone up at 0400. Formations were scheduled for 0515. PT was lame. We were mixed in with Army and Navy so it was kind of hard to do. The army didn't know the exercises that we do. And we had an Army cadet leading PT so it was slow and easy. Then Janet Landaros (she bunked with me) from Juarez led it and a lot of the non Marine Corps cadets were complaining it was too hard. Haha.
Breakfast Chow - Breakfast was actually really good. I forgot milk for my cheerios though. I had bacon and eggs.
After Breakfast - Class again with SgtMaj Smith. Then I asked to go change into my cammys
because the dress shoes from the service uniform were cutting my heel and I was bleeding. I changed, went back, but we were in a different class when I was finished ironing my sleeves. We were in some Communications class with (rank) Seeley USN. Boring. Then we went to another class on Styles of Leadership with some Major from the Army. Boring too.
Lunch Chow - Since I was in my cammys, I had a lot of attention when we were marching and in line for chow. It was pretty cool. Haha. I get conceited as hell when I'm in uniform.
After Lunch - We went to another class I think? I can't remember... But if we did, it was the one where we were told about the brief we had to do. Boring. We voted on who should be the following positions (we decided to give people a chance to step up and not go by rank) BC, XO, BTN SgtMaj, S1, S2, S3, S4, S5. It was: Johnson NJROTC, Wormley, NJROTC, Landaros MCJROTC, Wilson, MCJROTC, Knight NJROTC, S3 was some NJROTC cadet but I can't remember who, Nguyen MCJROTC, Taylor MCJROTC.
Dinner Chow - Again, not delicious but not disgusting. The recruits are so dedicated that they read their handbook in line. I guess its the smart thing to do since you probably hardly have time and they aren't allowed to talk anyways.
After Dinner - Okay, so this was sooo bad ass. We went to this big ol' gym and worked out like maniacs. The activities looked so simple but they were a work out! Stepping up and down stools, high stepping between hoops, carrying a sand man guy (Ozzy tripped and fell on him haha it was funny. A "You had to be there" moment.), lifting and tossing medicine balls, the pull up trainer, the sprinting, the jump roping, the squats with the little stretch things. All look so easy on their own but if you do it long enough (each station was only four minutes!) and the right way, its a work out! We were all super sore! Then we went to the barracks and the girls in the room had to split up who was going to clean what in the barracks. The Marines cleaned the heads that night.
Wednesday: Reveille at 0500
Morning: We got in trouble for being late to formations by the City Corps and then PT'd by groups and branch. Group 1 Navy together, Group 1 Army together, and Group 1 Marines together. Duh. It was pretty damn hard. I was surprised at how out of shape I really am. Worse than I thought I was. It was fun though.
Breakfast Chow - Same. as always. Forgot to grab milk for my cheerios again.
After breakfast - More classes. Worked on the brief that we had to present before we went for lunch chow at 1300 or something like that. I don't remember exact times. Anyways, we were supposed to brief to some guy or something from the Army at 1500. Finished up the slides on the presentation. PowerPoint projects are so annoying to me.
Lunch Chow - Nothing really different happens at chow. We just spend the time checking out the recruits because we aren't allowed to talk.
After Lunch - Anyways, we were supposed to present at 1500 but he said to start the presentation and he'll pop in because he wants to see some of it. And so we started but he didn't show up. So it was pointless because we ended up just briefing our imaginary unit to the same two people (Seeley and SgtMaj Smith) that were helping us build it. It was stupid. He never showed up. Except the good thing was that this guy from the City Corps came to the room and was watching us. He was army but looked good in uniform. Haha.
Dinner Chow - Again, nothing different. Recruit Dee was one of the guys that I was like "wow" to (in my head, of course) and then when I was so rudely staring (without realizing) he looked at me and I swear I blushed so hard I turned red. Haha.
After Dinner - We went to that one place with the ship and we pretended to deport and port from the pier. It was some Petty Officer whatever class that looked (I swear on Snoopy's life) EXACTLY like Juan De La Torre from Leadership Academy. If I didn't know better, I would have thought it was him. Same fat nose, same adorable face, same sarcastic sense of humor, same height, scarily similar voice. It was crazy. I asked him if he was related to Juan but he said no and I told him why I asked and he's like "Is that a good or bad thing?" It was definitely a good thing. After the exercise we found out that his nickname from Peach's (another Petty Officer he works with) daughter is Lil Mama. Haha. But back to the activity. It was fun! I was the line captain! I felt important. Haha. They threw a dummy in the water and they all yelled "Man Overboard" or something. Then someone threw a life jacket over but like... super far away and Lil Mama was all like "Oh great! You threw a life jacket! But too bad its 100 feet away! I guess something is better than nothing!" Back to the barracks. Had night watch again from 0400 to 0500 with Cepeda.
Thursday: Reveille at 0500
Morning - PT was a pain because we were all sore from the day before.
Breakfast Chow - I forgot milk again! I was so mad!
After Breakfast - More classes. Boring. First one was about Bases of Leadership and Influence Approaches. I kept falling asleep. And somehow, as much as I did, he didn't make me stand up. But Lauren fell asleep for like a second and he had her stand up and some Army pup in the back. I actually would have rather to stand but it seemed like I was getting away with sleeping so I didn't stand on my own. Then we went to the next class with some guy who was a really good teacher. It was a class on Management and he was telling us theres a difference between leadership and management. He had some good stories to tell. I didn't fall asleep. He made Juan Herrera laugh! I was so surprised! I liked that class the most, I think.
Lunch Chow - On the way to the chow hall, we heard one of the recruits calling cadence. Bad ass cadence! Of course you can't hear it by reading but all he was saying was "your one, two; your two,your three,your four." But oh my gosh, it made everyone in the platoon talk! It was so bad ass! I wish I knew who it was! Every time we would march by each other it was so catchy! Anyways... So I was in line and the recruits were right there eating and of course I have nothing better to do but pick out which ones the best looking. It happened to be Recruit Campbell this time. I looked at him for a second and he was looking at me already too. He was so wow! Seriously! And then he smiled and I smiled. Haha. His teeth are really white. So yeah. That was my eye candy of the day.
After Lunch - More classes. This time with the first Major in the Army that did the Styles of Leadership. We made a plan on how we were going to present the CPS Homeless Students fundraising thing and how we planned on executing the plan. It was very helpful but the guy is an asshole. I don't like him but I don't have to so whatever. He helped a lot is the main point.
Dinner Chow - Same thing. Sat with Tinoco from Carver Military Academy. I just remember that because she was asking me about my background and whatever. And it happened recently so it doesn't blend in with the other days like they all seem to do. Oh yeah, so, recruits aren't supposed to talk in the mess hall, but they were in line I saw. I mean, I'm sure they do it a lot but they're trying to hide it yet its just so obvious that it makes it funny.
After Dinner - We were supposed to clean the classrooms we used. They were actually barracks but we used them as classes. So whatever. Spent the night doing that. Someone stole some girls phone and we had our stuff checked. They didn't find it but then after we were all told to carry on, it magically appeared again in a place they already checked. We never found out who it was.
Friday: Reveille at 0500
Morning - I thought we were going to be able to sleep in but unfortunately that didn't happen. We PT'd by branch again. It was a lot easier today.
Breakfast Chow - We got to the mess hall early as hell but we still were being rushed like crazy. Oh yeah, I remembered to get milk for my cheerios! I was so happy! I love cheerios! And then when I sat down, I saw Soto (from Taft) with Frosted Flakes and I remembered that I told myself to get Frosted Flakes too. But I forgot. There weren't any recruits. They were all marching somewhere. I don't know. But I was kind of disappointed, I must admit. On the way back from chow though, we heard the guy with the bad ass cadence. I was squad leader every time but I still couldn't see his name tag. Too bad.
After Breakfast - Packed more. Cleaned our barracks and heads. Went to some speech thing from an Admiral. It wasn't long. The wait was about 45 minutes. The speeches took about 30? I was falling asleep during the Admiral's speech and almost fell forward. I felt so rude. I tried to play it off but I bet everyone facing the cadets noticed. Its so embarrassing. But maybe they should make their speeches a little more exciting like the guy who taught the Management class did! After they were done, we walked out by bus, grabbed a sack lunch, reported to the bus, and went on our way.
Back in Chicago - We got back around 1400. Master Sergeant drove a few MCJROTC cadets home. I was home around 1445. First thing I did was eat a Reese's cup and open a can of soda. No wonder I'm so out of shape. I really want to keep up the PT at 0530 routine but I doubt it'll last long. Especially with school coming up next week. I guess I'd have to PT at 0400 and sleep at 0900. I doubt that will happen but I'm going to try!
All in all, it wasn't too bad. But it wasn't my favorite thing either. Between the three events I've participated in this summer my favorites list would go like this:
1. Navy JROTC Leadership Academy
2. Command and Staff Leadership School
3. Young Marines Summer Encampment
So yeah. I was just thinking right now that it'd be pretty cool if I saw Campbell or Dee or some recruit that was at the base at the same time I was for this sometime in the future. I'm going to remember those two names forever no matter if I want to or not. I know it. Its just one of those things. But the difference is from now, I'll be a Marine instead of a Marine Cadet.
Oorah! (Hooah sounds so stupid! Glad I don't have to hear it anymore!)
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