What things do you remember about adapting to military life?

First stepping on the yellow footprints at Paris Island was surreal. Boot camp was what I was expecting. The fleet was where the adjustment came. Life changed. Being sent to another country, trying to be 18 but remembering Uncle Sam owns your butt. Living a dream and a nightmare at the same time, hating every second but loving every minute.

I thought it was an easy transition. The military is 90% mental and 10% physical...mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.

It was a good challenge. I learned a lot about myself, my capabilities, and it gave me MANY moments of self-awareness. I realized I am NOT and never will be a morning person. That was the tough part. I am grateful I had the buddy system to help me through that, otherwise I would not have survived getting up in the morning. I also learned how to stay humble even if I was humiliated and embarrassed. That is a quality most people don't understand or learn until they are faced with it. As time has went on, I don't remember most of the details of my experience but I do remember the qualities I have kept with me all this time (patience, determination, stay healthy, respect your body/stamina, and advocate for yourself where other people may not easily stand up for you). I took pride in myself of taking that leap to join the military in the first place and realized that I was very capable of working towards whatever goal I wanted to seek. It also taught me how to stay determined (sometimes more headstrong than most people think I could be). I realized that doing activities independently can be just as much fun as doing it with a group.

How bad my feet hurt! Standing and standing and standing, just to eat, or get equipment, etc. But the hardest thing was being deployed during Desert Storm. We didn't have cell phones back then, no internet, so every time we where near a phone, I'd stand in line to call home. I racked up a $700 phone bill to my mom! She was so awesome, never complained or said not to call as much. I miss her.....

I was 18 when I enlisted. Young and stupid, thought I was hard. I quite quickly found out I was about as hard as Twinkie filling. 3 months later, I had discovered just what I was capable of, and what my limitations were. It ended up being a wild ride, that lasted 24 years.

all the proper customs and courtesies many of which I had no idea about at that time

I SERVED IN THE GULF WAR

I joined the Navy right out of high school. The shock of the drastic changes in life along side the fact I was now on my own. After got adjusted it became a fact of life and routine

Discovering I was part of something that depended on me.

Mid-70’s, and long hair was in vogue. I got my hair cut the day before I left so that the Navy wouldn’t have to. I had no idea what a military haircut was like until I hit boot camp, and the haircut I got in Spokane wasn’t it.
My ears got sunburned terribly in the San Diego spring sun. I ended up losing most of my left ear to sun-damage skin cancer….