From the top

Funny thing about me being in the navy, is that i never had any intention of joining my whole life. I went to san diego like 2 years ago to visit my brother whose wife is a navy officer, and we went on base and hung out on the beach. It planted a seed in my head of what navy life was like- a lot easier than i had suspected. For the thought of bootcamp was my biggest fear, pushups, situps, and waking up early, never getting any sleep, and just hating life for many weeks.

But going on base changed that for me, so i started researching. I youtube'd videos on peoples experiences at bootcamp, and found out that ordinary people were graduating from it everyday, and making it through. How hard could it be? I drove to my recruiter station in manchester, and signed my death sentence. Paperwork was a hassle, but i checked out perfectly fine, just had to get a physical, and i was off to great lakes, illinois. Physical was done, and i had my ship off date scheduled for May 19th, 2013. WOW, tomorrow. I thought about it more, and i couldnt stand my night shift job any longer, and my life may have been heading down the wrong path, so i asked my recruiter if there was anything they could do. Pshhh little did i know there is always something they can do. I get a call 2 weeks later for a Machinist Mate (AD- a new job rating), and i immediatly say yes. They tell me i have a week and a half until i get shipped from portland maine to chicago for bootcamp. December 13, 2012 was my bootcamp date. I signed the dotted line, and had mother and father meet me up at the processing station to send me off. I get my medical files, and im on to the airport with 3 other guys.