My Most Significant Challenge
My most significant challenge to date has been enduring basic training for the American Army. Boot camp was physically and mentally challenging and I am sure everyone has heard that. The way it changed my life, however, is what makes it pertinent. I went in expecting it to be worse than it actually was, and I came out realizing it had been harder than I thought.
The hard part was not doing PT (physical training) morning and night - it was dealing with myself and others and bad habits accrued through young adulthood. I had to get past myself first in order to deal with other people, other soldiers and the community, on a professional level.
Once I was able to do that I was truly proud of myself. I felt like that, in itself, was the most valuable skill I had accrued in basic training – just learning to deal. Working with people, closely and professionally is a key part of success. A person must be able to do this in order to reach the finish line in their adult career.
In basic training we were taught this by example through our leaders, our drill sergeants. They put in the time and effort required to make us good soldiers. To teach us this they sometimes had to pair us up with the person we disliked the most. They had to treat us equally harsh. Our drill sergeants had to punish us with “corrective action” (push-ups, etc…) for our wrongs until we understood what it was to be a professional soldier.
In boot camp what was right was to live up to the standard: equal opportunity, being on time (ten minutes early), and providing a clean and neat appearance, among others. Working our butts off, getting dirty and smelly on the hard ground, and absorbing what we were being shown at the same time was challenging, but it was fun too. It was as difficult as ever, but it came with a reward - watching my buddies do what was right and graduating together.
Written by Robyn Eggs
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