• Please take a moment and update your account profile. If you have an updated account profile with basic information on why you are on Air Warriors it will help other people respond to your posts. How do you update your profile you ask?

    Go here:

    Edit Account Details and Profile

USNA Advice

CadetGriff

New Member
Hello Air Warriors,


My name is Griffin I'm 15 two weeks from 16, I have read all sorts of threads on here about the USNA. I've gotten pretty much every question answered. I would however like to get some personal advice on my behalf. Any criticism you have, go ahead and throw it my way. As long as it's clean, but I trust you guys.

Alright so currently I am in CAP, and I've seen all of the joke forums. Unfortunately that's sometimes true. We have a lot of goofs, slackers, and tubbies. As well as control freaks. But their are also people like me who are really trying to advance and make something of ourselves. Currently I'm a TSgt I figure with perseverance I'll have my Billy Mitchell in 8-10 months if I'm lucky.

I'm currently enrolled on an Online High school, which you get credits for once you transfer back to public school. Even the grades get transferred, and I'm making strait A's. The only problem I have, is I'm slow and not getting enough credits because I tend to procrastinate. I'd like advice from you guys on dealing with procrastination.

I've been accepted to Starbucks and the manager guaranteed me a job once my 16th birthday rolls around two weeks from now. I'm not sure if that looks good for USNA but I thought I might add it in. I also work at the local fisheries when they do family fishing days and get a few hours of community service for it. Only problem is it ran by a bunch of College Hippies (Save the environment dude)LOL.

The one thing I need is sports and I need a varsity letter. I joined track but got a bunch of crap from the kids because my peers are a bunch of retards, So I quit. I'm a big dude and all the coaches at the high school want me to play football next fall my junior year. But I don't want to get more crap from these retarded kids. Not to mention getting a varsity for football is ultra-mega competitive.

Also I'm a certified Open Water Diver, with three specialties under my belt, and over 25 dives. I guess that's extracurricular right?

Thanks,
-Griffin
 

bubbagump

Coo-coo for cocopuffs
Better start learning how to take crap from people, otherwise maybe the military is not for you.

Either way, good luck on your endeavors.
 

twobecrazy

RTB...
Contributor
The only problem I have, is I'm slow and not getting enough credits because I tend to procrastinate. I'd like advice from you guys on dealing with procrastination.

I have difficulties with this as well at times. I make a schedule now. I typically keep it in my head now but write down what you have going on for a couple of weeks and schedule ahead of time your school work, volunteer time, and any other activities you have going on. Set times for when you want to begin and finish these activities so you can move on to the next. Ensure to set aside “Griffin time” which is basically do what gets you mind off everything and allows you time to enjoy life i.e. watch TV, take a nap, go to the movie with your friends, etc… It is easier said than done but after you have done it for a few weeks with very minor deviations then it starts to register in your head I have to do this or that then you go do it. It becomes second nature so you are always thinking about it and procrastinating less. When you go to the academy they will expect you to do things in a certain amount of time. You will be so busy with all the various amounts of things going on that you will have to mandate your time accordingly. It would be beneficial to start now.

The one thing I need is sports and I need a varsity letter. I joined track but got a bunch of crap from the kids because my peers are a bunch of retards, So I quit. I'm a big dude and all the coaches at the high school want me to play football next fall my junior year. But I don't want to get more crap from these retarded kids. Not to mention getting a varsity for football is ultra-mega competitive.
The kids giving you a bunch of crap or your view as them being retarded is high school social scene in a nut shell from certain viewpoints. If you don't let it bother you and show them it doesn't bother you then you may find they will become your friends. You’re going to need thick skin in the military mostly in a different sense but sometimes in the same. This will be valuable for you to gain an understanding of yourself and how to handle these situations. As far as football being mega-competitive, most sports are! I think this would be a good one because this sport will allow you to hit those other kids and if you hit hard they will stop giving you crap rather quickly. J It also allows you to release other frustration you have built up throughout the day. You may try basketball, golf, tennis, band, baseball, or hockey but most of these require some sort of skill that has to have been acquired through several years of playing. Football is the only one that says line up across this guy and hit him if the ball comes near him if your on defense and hit this guy to stop him from getting to the guy with the ball on offense. It is more difficult than that but it is not unreasonable to think someone who has never played the sport couldn’t come in and succeed in the sport relatively quickly.
 

HeyJoe

Fly Navy! ...or USMC
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
The only problem I have, is I'm slow and not getting enough credits because I tend to procrastinate. I'd like advice from you guys on dealing with procrastination.

You're going to have to ask yourself how bad you want to go to USNA or be commissioned then because procrastination will be a huge liability. You need to develop a counter to it like taking pride in getting things done fast and accurately with an eye for attention to detail. CAP, Boy Scouts, JROTC all embody setting goals and striving to achieve them. That is what Academy is looking for in your package.

I've been accepted to Starbucks and the manager guaranteed me a job once my 16th birthday rolls around two weeks from now. I'm not sure if that looks good for USNA but I thought I might add it in.

Working at Starbucks isn't as discrimminating as a positive unless you're pulling down good grades and playing sports, etc. so it appears that you can balance a lot of demands on your life.

The one thing I need is sports and I need a varsity letter. I joined track but got a bunch of crap from the kids because my peers are a bunch of retards, So I quit.

Say what? You quit because of smack talk? If you want to be a commissioned officer in any service through any program, you're going to have to develop your own sense of principles and if popular opinion or a vocal minority attempts to dissuade you from what you know is right for you, then you can decide to forge your own path or let others tell you what to do. Right now, they're telling you not to go to Academy, you realize that? So think ahead 4-10 years. Where do you want to be? Where do you think they will be? Listen carefully...you'll never be able to blame them for keeping you from your aspirations, but you're letting them do exactly that. It will be your fault if you let your so-called "retarded" friends influence you. You might have to part company with them if they won't repsect your choices.

I was your age in height of Vietnam Conflict and stuck to my guns even though going into military didn't sit well with most of my peers. What you'll find is how shallow they really are and worrying about popularity is no insurance against comments from retards. The teenage years are full of such behavior. Some people rise above it as they mature. Best decide how commited you are and don't waste time with friends who don't respect and encourage your involvement in activities that help you get where you want to be.

I'm a big dude and all the coaches at the high school want me to play football next fall my junior year. But I don't want to get more crap from these retarded kids.

You're a big dude and worried about taking lip from those folks. Get a backbone and use your size to push back. Lose them now and be prepared for noise for ignoring them. They'll find another target.

Not to mention getting a varsity for football is ultra-mega competitive.

What do you think Academy is? The reason Varsity Letters and Eagle Scout rank breaks you out from others is you show you can compete in mega-competitive environment. If a coach asks you to come out, you're already being sized up as a potential player so get a backbone and stop worrying about what people think or whether you'll make it or not.
 

Sky-Pig

Retired Cryptologic Warfare / Naval Flight Officer
None
Desire to attend the academy is one thing...setting yourself up for success is another. Use your google (or bing) skills and track down the admission statistics for the past few USNA classes...and look for what traits / extra curriculars / grades / SAT scores etc predominate.

Grades are always key...but the Navy looks for the "whole man" stuff...can you balance school with sports with work with not having any mug shots taken of you by your local police friends etc...

A red flag for me are the number of areas where an applicant quits...speaks to a lack of commitment in many ways. One of the enduring facts of the academy and your follow-on military service is that things will really suck at times...showing you can finish what you start is important. Getting and holding the job at Starbucks is good...the fishing stuff good...awesome grades and a varsity letter would be a nice cherry on top.

As far as your tendency to procrastinate and how to improve in that area...set goals and achieve them...there is no rocket science answer here, just stop wasting time. Seriously.

Finally, don't be too hard on yourself. 15 going on 16 means you are a young man-child...remember to have fun and be smart. Good luck.
 

FlyBoyd

Out to Pasture
pilot
So think ahead 4-10 years. Where do you want to be? Where do you think they will be?

I caught all kinds of crap from my friends for the path I chose in high school. My basketball/track teammates (and coaches) gave me crap for joining JROTC and the JROTC cadets gave me crap for hanging out with the "dumb" jocks. Twenty-five years later and they all wish they could be me. Other successful ones joined the military at some point which proved to me that the structure and training you receive in any branch of the service benefits you elsewhere too.

OBTW, I was/am the laziest procrastinater you will ever meet. In line with the advice above, I have learned to actually schedule the down time to feed that portion of my psyche.

I suspect most others here will agree with this.....I don't really have but one lifelong friend from high school. All the rest are from college and my time in the Navy. Don't let your current "friends" define the rest of your life. I chuckle now when I remember how much their (high school friends) opinions meant to me then. It is normal to feel the way you do but recognize it and look to YOUR future not the future some other 16 year old thinks you should live.
 

Uncle Fester

Robot Pimp
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
I'll echo sky-pig, and to quote my Pops when I'd get to whining about how tough something was: "Brains don't count. Perseverance do."

Whatever you choose to do, or wind up choosing from your options, do it well and stick to it. The academies would much rather see an applicant who does a few things very well - and demonstrates leadership ability, reliability, and determination - than a 'joiner' who dabbles in a bunch of things or quits frequently. The Boat School will suck sometimes. That's just how it is. The only easy thing to do there is quit. There are thousands of applicants competing for a few spots. So they want to send someone who is going to lean in and finish what they start.

I will add that, if being around 'ultra mega-competitive' peers is a turn-off for you, who do you think your peers at USNA would be? It's always a big dash of cold water for some kids when they show up fresh from being King Shit at their high school, and suddenly they're surrounded by a bunch of people who were 4.0+ football stud Calculus whizzes. But very often, the never-had-a-pimple prom king soccer captains went home before the summer was out. It was the guys who learned to get back up when they fell on their ass who made it to graduation.
 

CadetGriff

New Member
Thanks for all the support guys. I want to go to the academy more than anything right now. I'd give an organ to attend. For that reason I'm going to take all your suggestions and try them out. I also get what guys are saying with perseverance, basically just keep going don't let anything stand in my way, right? If anyone else has anymore feedback just throw it in. I really appreciate it guys.

Thanks,
-Griffin
 
Top