Have you ever just felt like giving up? There has been times I have. When I made it through the Marine Corps basic training, I realized that anything was possible. After finishing basic training, I was a better person and a better student. I had become a more focused individual.
One of the main reasons that I'm now a better student is that I'm able to handle stress and confusion better.
In October of 2001, I flew to Parris Island, South Carolina to start the Marine Corps basic training, also known as "Boot Camp." I was 18 years old and just a punk ; I thought I knew everything and the world owed me something. I never thought I would get a rude awakening like this. It was a long day. They drove us around for about two-and-a-half hours to get us disoriented. They do this to keep people from trying to escape. People are less likely to run if they don't know what direction to go. They would also keep us up for hours. They knew it would make us more confused and stressed out. When the drill instructors would wake us up, they would make us get dressed in under two minutes. Now when I have to stay up late to study for a test, I'm able to do it with no problems. I also don't worry about being unprepared. Because in war, we don't get a lot of sleep. When I was in Iraq, we only slept one to two hours a day. Another technique the drill instructors used was to yell and scream at us for what, I will never know. This was to get us ready to be able to work in a stressful and loud environment. Before boot camp, I would get nervous if a teacher would yell at me; now I can shrug it off and not get discouraged. We would also drill all the time this too would teach us discipline. So if we were ever setting up an ambush on the enemy, we would have the discipline not to move or flinch. The reason this is so effective is because down in North Carolina there are a lot of sand fleas. We would have to let them bite us, or let them crawl around in our mouth and ears.
Now that I had the discipline, I still needed the strength to be able to achieve my goals.
I remember when one recruit got out of line, he got us put in the sand pit. That's where we are taken outside and forced to do push-ups, mountain climbers, and any other thing they could think of. This made me a better person because I became a team player. In life, we need to help people because most people will be willing to help us. I'm glad I realized this because life would be real hard with nobody giving me a hand. Another thing they would make us do was sound off (yell as loud as we can) for any answer they wanted or anything we needed. I remember losing my voice a lot. This made me a better person because I now stand-up for what I think is right. It's funny how something so small can change a person's life.
In addition to the yelling, we always had to run. The drill instructors would make us run three miles almost every day. Some days were so hot down there we just felt like giving up. This way they could mold us into marines. This would get us ready for the extreme physical strength we would need in Iraq or Afghanistan. Not only did it prepare us for deploying over seas, it made my mind stronger. A saying I was always told was "Mind over matter, if you don't mind, it don't matter." When it was all over, I was extremely proud. Not just because it was over, but because I had accomplished something.
In conclusion, after all the training, I became more disciplined and focused on life. This has helped in so many ways. I'm now a better student because I don't give up on something I don't understand. And I now understand that any goal is achievable. It made me better person because I can now say that I would help anybody out, no matter the circumstances. So when you are feeling like giving up, remember that you just need to believe in yourself. If you do that, you to will realize that you can achieve any goal you set for yourself.
