Song of Solomon
Well-Known Member
- Credits
- 350
Ok originally I wrote this to motivate a freshman in my school who was doing bad in school. Well I thought some of you might enjoy reading this so here it is! And yes this is all true, it's my own personal experience. Please feel free to ask any questions or comment about anything!
WARNING: Contains "Trash Talk"
WARNING: Contains "Trash Talk"
Get Motivated!
-Naval Boot Camp 12.26.06 – 1.06.07
I can't sleep. Just lying here on my cot alongside my shipmates'. I dread not having a watch, just to see how many more hours, minutes, or even seconds I have left to get my rest before another 16-hour long day of criticism and failure. It's still pitch dark, but I dare not try and go back to sleep, in case our wake-up call comes to consume our sweet dreams of home and the loved ones we left behind. Home seems so far away. Each day feels like a lifetime. Each new day feels like I'm reborn, but into a stronger, more self-determined being. This is what it must feel like to turn into a man.
**********
I must have fallen asleep, 'cause in a split second, I woke up to banging pots, flicking lights, petty officers screaming their brains out, and my fellow shipmates moaning and bumping into each other still half asleep. I've gotten used to this now, this sense of urgency. But I still dread each and every day. I help my fellow shipmates once I am done helping my own self. I grew to feel shame of being in Delta Company. We were known as the laughing stock of the whole battalion. Some of my shipmates even told me straight out that they did not give a shit about anything anymore. It's surprising really, that someone would be more than willing to share the fact that they've already given up, it sickens me. I wonder how long it will take them to finally accept the fact that they are going not going home until they get their act together and work as a team. We double time outside and form our ranks in the freezing morning winds. Boy it's gonna be another long day…
**********
"There are two kinds of recruits who graduate here; they're the smart cadets, and the strong cadets. And right now, you guys are itching to be strong cadets, cause you're gonna drop every single fucking day until you get your god damn act together"
-Sergeant Day
**********
Oh boy, it's been about seven hours and we're lining up in the food hall. Meals are the only thing I look forward to now, and yet every meal reminds me of home. You know it's true, the saying that you take everything for granted until they're finally gone. Heck, here I am in standing in single column line my toes touching the heels of the cadet in front of me counting the hairs on the back of his head, resisting the urge to scratch my nose and crack my neck. Every little movement, every little glance comes with a consequence, and let me tell you this it usually involves doing pushups. Food glorious food!! The aroma is making me sleepy. I look straight standing at attention, occasionally glancing at the food I would soon consume when no one was looking. We're having potatoes and chili today, not much but it still makes my mouth water. Every meal we eat plenty so that we can have enough energy for the rest of the long day, but we also are careful not to eat too much. Who knows, it might come back up when you're on the ground in flutter kick position.
**********
"The Pain Train is acomin' boys, and you're comin aboard."
-Sergeant Day
God damn, some f***ing recruit felt lucky enough to try and sneak in some juice during lunch. Since we were the "screw-up" company we got a lot of our food privileges taken away. Hell, we weren't even allowed to eat bread. We were starting to get used to getting dropped by Sergeant Day every single day every single moment. But the Pain Train ain’t fun right after lunch when the chili is still in your stomach let me assure you.
"Down, Up",
"18",
"Down, Up",
"19",
"Half way down, all the way down, half way up, all the way down, up",
"20",
"ON YOUR FEET, GET THERE, TOO SLOWW ON YOUR FACES, DOWN, UP"
"1",
"DOWN, KEEP IT THERE. GET OFF MY DECK RECRUIT I DONT WANT HOLES IN MY DECK! GET YOUR ASS OUTTA THE AIR, GET YOUR ASS UP HERE YOU CAN LEAD THE COMPANY YOURSELF"
A lot of my shipmates are already giving up on themselves, they don't understand that if they're gonna have to drop sooner or later. The ones who screw up are the ones who get to stand in front of us and make us suffer even more because they can't do a couple God damned pushups. Everyone is starting to give up. They think they are the smart ones, accepting the opportunity to rest while we suffer. But in reality, they have given up their dignity, their hope, and their pride, their family, their shipmates, their company, all because they kept saying to themselves that they were too weak to go on. I urge my struggling shipmates, along with the few others whom I still hold in high respect, to keep going, to fight the pain and fight for their goal, to overcome pain, which is only temporary, instead of let it overcome them. My face is drenched with sweat and my eyes start to sting, but I don't even bother to wipe them. I'm too busy watching my shipmates suffer to notice that my own body is slowly giving in. In reality, our solid bodies are weak; they only hold us down and limit our true capabilities. But if we can set aside that thought, we will find that we do not have limitations, we only think we do. The body is only a tool, the mind and determination is what keeps it going.
**********
"WATER I NEED WATER SOMEBODY GIVE ME THEIR GOD DAMN CANTENE"
-Petty Officer Cornes
Turns out Suarez hyperventilated after a visit to the Pain Train. It's a shame, out of all of my shipmates; Suarez is one of the few cadets I highly respected. He suffered because his other shipmates who were to weak had to screw up. They gave up, but Suarez didn't. He kept going, past his limits and beyond. (For the next few days Suarez grew sick and occasionally vomited. He had to stay in bed most of our second week at the camp.) We're sitting at attention, ready for anything, well, at least I was. A few of my shipmates cried silently, wishing they were home, wondering why they signed up for this hell in the first place. Heh, it’s not even close. They made a big mistake, to show weakness when we weren't near done with this whole scenario. I almost felt bad. Even though I barely talked to my shipmates, so much as we were barely allowed to; I could tell that they already gave up. And I have to admit, I started to lose faith in my own company as well. No matter what I did, there was always somebody there to pull me back down. No matter what I told them, they did not bother to think about why they were there and what they were fighting for. I didn't care; I was going to graduate boot camp as a success, with or without my company. It was only a few seconds later when petty officer Cornes returned that I found out that was impossible.
**********
"Count, OFF!"
"1, 2, 3..."
Showers were one factor about boot camp that I myself particularly did not like. First of all, we are usually standing outside 8 P.M. freezing our asses off in our underwear in attention. We march inside the showers and get ready for showers. There’s always that one fruit that thinks he can take a shower in his underwear. ("Take off your fucking skivvies, we all have dicks what are you afraid of."
-Petty Officer Blackshear) One thing about the showers, is that the water is either fucking cold, or boiling hot, and yes I mean boiling when I say it. Oh and another thing is that we have like ten seconds to get the whole thing done. Man I'm lucky enough if I get to brush my teeth today. Here’s something funny, we had to take showers in the dark once since we screwed up, I think cause my company was accused of throwing food around in the food hall (I don’t know if it was true, but I’m not gonna point fingers, it takes a man to accept his mistakes, my mistake was not telling them that food was for eating and not as Pain Train tickets in the first place.)
“FORM UP OUTSIDE, I SAID FORM UP OUTSIDE FUCKTARD AND I MEAN NOW, DROP GIVE ME TWENTYFIVE GET THERE, SO GOD DAMN SLOW MIGHT AS WELL WASTE TIME DOIN PUSHUPS INSTED OF JUS LOLLIGAGGIN IN THE FUCKIN SHOWERS, MAYBE THIS WAY YOU'LL BE STRONG ENOUGH TO FORM UP FASTERâ€
Damn, I still soap on my body, well time to go back in formation…
**********
"Taps taps, lights out. Goodnight Recruits."
"GOODNIGHT SIR!"
"Goodnight ladies."
"GOODNIGHT PETTY OFFICER!"
Another day wasted, feeling like a complete failure. Maybe it's my fault, maybe I haven’t been acting as a team. Maybe that's why my company is the laughing stock of the whole battalion. Sigh. I didn't have time to write home today, hopefully I will tomorrow. But I did get a letter from my parents. I keep going for them. Every time my company lets me down, my brothers, the thought of my family is always there to bring me back up. All I want is to make my family proud. I want to live up to my father, who had to endure 8 weeks of intense military training during the Vietnam War. Much more than what I am going through now. I want to make my mother proud to call me her son. I want to make my little bro proud, just to have a big brother he can look up to. That is my motivation; it will drive me through boot camp, and bring me back home. I pray for sweet dreams of home. I better get some sleep. I have a long day ahead of me.
**********
Motivation, it’s essential as breathing air. It’s what drives us to reach our goals, our dreams. Motivation is what gives life purpose; motivation is to have the will to live. All you need to do is find that motivation. I found my motivation during my two weeks stay at the naval boot camp in Port Hueneme. And if you want to give up your Christmas vacation and give a go at it too, feel free to do so. It did wonders for me, it definitely will for you. Of course, many of you probably would not even consider going to boot camp. Therefore, I’m allowing you to learn how to motivate yourself through me. Think of why you are doing whatever you are doing now, or more like what you should be doing. Find that one reason that keeps you going. If you can’t seem to think of anything, than you better find it quick. I don’t see what’s so hard about being motivated to build your own future. At my boot camp, our motivation every day for two weeks was just to go home, to spend time with our families, and to just live the normal life of an everyday teenager. Compared to boot camp, school is nothing; school is a trip to candyland. If you can’t handle this kind of life, we’ll make sure that you can in boot camp. You can’t just sit down and study at the comfort of being home every night, you’ll find yourself in pushup position with a naval marine screaming two inches from your face about why the f*** you can’t get your knees off the ground. Not motivating enough? They’ll also force you to dance with a fat black guy singing “Irreplaceable†in front of 300 people including your parents. That should be motivation enough for you. Life is rewarding, but only if you live to your fullest.
**********
My Notes After Graduation
DETERMINATION
Boot camp was one experience I will never forget. I don't regret it either, it gave me the confidence and determination that I could not even hope to have before I went to boot. I came as a boy, and left as a man. Now instead of hiding from my problems, I will face them like the man I claim to be.
APPRECIATION
Those two weeks allowed me to look at life from a different perspective. Everything is a privilege; we can't just take them for granted. Our families, our friends, just being able to enjoy the paradise of HOME are best things not every son of a gun could be lucky enough to have.
MOTIVATION
Motivate yourself. Don’t give up easily. Make yourself goals you can fight for. Once you have those goals, make them your ultimate priority, and do whatever you can just to reach them. Even if you fail, you can be comforted by the fact that you have improved with each passing failure. You learn from your failures, you don’t repeat them. If you can't find your motivation, you'll find that life would seem really boring and pointless. If you motivate yourself, you'll find that you can do things you've never thought was possible.
TEAMWORK
I have to admit that my company was not a company for teamwork. A lot of my shipmates did not cooperate and several times we even fought amongst each other. Several times I lost faith in my own brothers. I should have tried harder to motivate my brothers instead of pity them. In the end, we eventually came together and realized that we would have to stick together if we were gonna get through boot camp as graduated cadets instead of failures.
-V.B.
HOOORAH DELTA
-Naval Boot Camp 12.26.06 – 1.06.07
I can't sleep. Just lying here on my cot alongside my shipmates'. I dread not having a watch, just to see how many more hours, minutes, or even seconds I have left to get my rest before another 16-hour long day of criticism and failure. It's still pitch dark, but I dare not try and go back to sleep, in case our wake-up call comes to consume our sweet dreams of home and the loved ones we left behind. Home seems so far away. Each day feels like a lifetime. Each new day feels like I'm reborn, but into a stronger, more self-determined being. This is what it must feel like to turn into a man.
**********
I must have fallen asleep, 'cause in a split second, I woke up to banging pots, flicking lights, petty officers screaming their brains out, and my fellow shipmates moaning and bumping into each other still half asleep. I've gotten used to this now, this sense of urgency. But I still dread each and every day. I help my fellow shipmates once I am done helping my own self. I grew to feel shame of being in Delta Company. We were known as the laughing stock of the whole battalion. Some of my shipmates even told me straight out that they did not give a shit about anything anymore. It's surprising really, that someone would be more than willing to share the fact that they've already given up, it sickens me. I wonder how long it will take them to finally accept the fact that they are going not going home until they get their act together and work as a team. We double time outside and form our ranks in the freezing morning winds. Boy it's gonna be another long day…
**********
"There are two kinds of recruits who graduate here; they're the smart cadets, and the strong cadets. And right now, you guys are itching to be strong cadets, cause you're gonna drop every single fucking day until you get your god damn act together"
-Sergeant Day
**********
Oh boy, it's been about seven hours and we're lining up in the food hall. Meals are the only thing I look forward to now, and yet every meal reminds me of home. You know it's true, the saying that you take everything for granted until they're finally gone. Heck, here I am in standing in single column line my toes touching the heels of the cadet in front of me counting the hairs on the back of his head, resisting the urge to scratch my nose and crack my neck. Every little movement, every little glance comes with a consequence, and let me tell you this it usually involves doing pushups. Food glorious food!! The aroma is making me sleepy. I look straight standing at attention, occasionally glancing at the food I would soon consume when no one was looking. We're having potatoes and chili today, not much but it still makes my mouth water. Every meal we eat plenty so that we can have enough energy for the rest of the long day, but we also are careful not to eat too much. Who knows, it might come back up when you're on the ground in flutter kick position.
**********
"The Pain Train is acomin' boys, and you're comin aboard."
-Sergeant Day
God damn, some f***ing recruit felt lucky enough to try and sneak in some juice during lunch. Since we were the "screw-up" company we got a lot of our food privileges taken away. Hell, we weren't even allowed to eat bread. We were starting to get used to getting dropped by Sergeant Day every single day every single moment. But the Pain Train ain’t fun right after lunch when the chili is still in your stomach let me assure you.
"Down, Up",
"18",
"Down, Up",
"19",
"Half way down, all the way down, half way up, all the way down, up",
"20",
"ON YOUR FEET, GET THERE, TOO SLOWW ON YOUR FACES, DOWN, UP"
"1",
"DOWN, KEEP IT THERE. GET OFF MY DECK RECRUIT I DONT WANT HOLES IN MY DECK! GET YOUR ASS OUTTA THE AIR, GET YOUR ASS UP HERE YOU CAN LEAD THE COMPANY YOURSELF"
A lot of my shipmates are already giving up on themselves, they don't understand that if they're gonna have to drop sooner or later. The ones who screw up are the ones who get to stand in front of us and make us suffer even more because they can't do a couple God damned pushups. Everyone is starting to give up. They think they are the smart ones, accepting the opportunity to rest while we suffer. But in reality, they have given up their dignity, their hope, and their pride, their family, their shipmates, their company, all because they kept saying to themselves that they were too weak to go on. I urge my struggling shipmates, along with the few others whom I still hold in high respect, to keep going, to fight the pain and fight for their goal, to overcome pain, which is only temporary, instead of let it overcome them. My face is drenched with sweat and my eyes start to sting, but I don't even bother to wipe them. I'm too busy watching my shipmates suffer to notice that my own body is slowly giving in. In reality, our solid bodies are weak; they only hold us down and limit our true capabilities. But if we can set aside that thought, we will find that we do not have limitations, we only think we do. The body is only a tool, the mind and determination is what keeps it going.
**********
"WATER I NEED WATER SOMEBODY GIVE ME THEIR GOD DAMN CANTENE"
-Petty Officer Cornes
Turns out Suarez hyperventilated after a visit to the Pain Train. It's a shame, out of all of my shipmates; Suarez is one of the few cadets I highly respected. He suffered because his other shipmates who were to weak had to screw up. They gave up, but Suarez didn't. He kept going, past his limits and beyond. (For the next few days Suarez grew sick and occasionally vomited. He had to stay in bed most of our second week at the camp.) We're sitting at attention, ready for anything, well, at least I was. A few of my shipmates cried silently, wishing they were home, wondering why they signed up for this hell in the first place. Heh, it’s not even close. They made a big mistake, to show weakness when we weren't near done with this whole scenario. I almost felt bad. Even though I barely talked to my shipmates, so much as we were barely allowed to; I could tell that they already gave up. And I have to admit, I started to lose faith in my own company as well. No matter what I did, there was always somebody there to pull me back down. No matter what I told them, they did not bother to think about why they were there and what they were fighting for. I didn't care; I was going to graduate boot camp as a success, with or without my company. It was only a few seconds later when petty officer Cornes returned that I found out that was impossible.
**********
"Count, OFF!"
"1, 2, 3..."
Showers were one factor about boot camp that I myself particularly did not like. First of all, we are usually standing outside 8 P.M. freezing our asses off in our underwear in attention. We march inside the showers and get ready for showers. There’s always that one fruit that thinks he can take a shower in his underwear. ("Take off your fucking skivvies, we all have dicks what are you afraid of."
-Petty Officer Blackshear) One thing about the showers, is that the water is either fucking cold, or boiling hot, and yes I mean boiling when I say it. Oh and another thing is that we have like ten seconds to get the whole thing done. Man I'm lucky enough if I get to brush my teeth today. Here’s something funny, we had to take showers in the dark once since we screwed up, I think cause my company was accused of throwing food around in the food hall (I don’t know if it was true, but I’m not gonna point fingers, it takes a man to accept his mistakes, my mistake was not telling them that food was for eating and not as Pain Train tickets in the first place.)
“FORM UP OUTSIDE, I SAID FORM UP OUTSIDE FUCKTARD AND I MEAN NOW, DROP GIVE ME TWENTYFIVE GET THERE, SO GOD DAMN SLOW MIGHT AS WELL WASTE TIME DOIN PUSHUPS INSTED OF JUS LOLLIGAGGIN IN THE FUCKIN SHOWERS, MAYBE THIS WAY YOU'LL BE STRONG ENOUGH TO FORM UP FASTERâ€
Damn, I still soap on my body, well time to go back in formation…
**********
"Taps taps, lights out. Goodnight Recruits."
"GOODNIGHT SIR!"
"Goodnight ladies."
"GOODNIGHT PETTY OFFICER!"
Another day wasted, feeling like a complete failure. Maybe it's my fault, maybe I haven’t been acting as a team. Maybe that's why my company is the laughing stock of the whole battalion. Sigh. I didn't have time to write home today, hopefully I will tomorrow. But I did get a letter from my parents. I keep going for them. Every time my company lets me down, my brothers, the thought of my family is always there to bring me back up. All I want is to make my family proud. I want to live up to my father, who had to endure 8 weeks of intense military training during the Vietnam War. Much more than what I am going through now. I want to make my mother proud to call me her son. I want to make my little bro proud, just to have a big brother he can look up to. That is my motivation; it will drive me through boot camp, and bring me back home. I pray for sweet dreams of home. I better get some sleep. I have a long day ahead of me.
**********
Motivation, it’s essential as breathing air. It’s what drives us to reach our goals, our dreams. Motivation is what gives life purpose; motivation is to have the will to live. All you need to do is find that motivation. I found my motivation during my two weeks stay at the naval boot camp in Port Hueneme. And if you want to give up your Christmas vacation and give a go at it too, feel free to do so. It did wonders for me, it definitely will for you. Of course, many of you probably would not even consider going to boot camp. Therefore, I’m allowing you to learn how to motivate yourself through me. Think of why you are doing whatever you are doing now, or more like what you should be doing. Find that one reason that keeps you going. If you can’t seem to think of anything, than you better find it quick. I don’t see what’s so hard about being motivated to build your own future. At my boot camp, our motivation every day for two weeks was just to go home, to spend time with our families, and to just live the normal life of an everyday teenager. Compared to boot camp, school is nothing; school is a trip to candyland. If you can’t handle this kind of life, we’ll make sure that you can in boot camp. You can’t just sit down and study at the comfort of being home every night, you’ll find yourself in pushup position with a naval marine screaming two inches from your face about why the f*** you can’t get your knees off the ground. Not motivating enough? They’ll also force you to dance with a fat black guy singing “Irreplaceable†in front of 300 people including your parents. That should be motivation enough for you. Life is rewarding, but only if you live to your fullest.
**********
My Notes After Graduation
DETERMINATION
Boot camp was one experience I will never forget. I don't regret it either, it gave me the confidence and determination that I could not even hope to have before I went to boot. I came as a boy, and left as a man. Now instead of hiding from my problems, I will face them like the man I claim to be.
APPRECIATION
Those two weeks allowed me to look at life from a different perspective. Everything is a privilege; we can't just take them for granted. Our families, our friends, just being able to enjoy the paradise of HOME are best things not every son of a gun could be lucky enough to have.
MOTIVATION
Motivate yourself. Don’t give up easily. Make yourself goals you can fight for. Once you have those goals, make them your ultimate priority, and do whatever you can just to reach them. Even if you fail, you can be comforted by the fact that you have improved with each passing failure. You learn from your failures, you don’t repeat them. If you can't find your motivation, you'll find that life would seem really boring and pointless. If you motivate yourself, you'll find that you can do things you've never thought was possible.
TEAMWORK
I have to admit that my company was not a company for teamwork. A lot of my shipmates did not cooperate and several times we even fought amongst each other. Several times I lost faith in my own brothers. I should have tried harder to motivate my brothers instead of pity them. In the end, we eventually came together and realized that we would have to stick together if we were gonna get through boot camp as graduated cadets instead of failures.
-V.B.
HOOORAH DELTA
