Just a couple of days ago, I was contacted by one of the girls that I went through boot camp with.  She's trying to reconnect all of  our company, K004, on Facebook. 

So, of course I've been thinking back on those days.  This was before anyone could pull "stress cards" or the like.  It was certainly nothing like the resort that boot camp is for some nowadays.  A lot of my memories are hazy of that time, simply because they kept us so tired that I felt like a zombie half of the time.   Some things I'll never forget.  Like the male company on the floor below us getting cycled so much that our walls started to sweat.  Or the crazy girl who talked to her cheerios.  Or the time, during an inspection, one of the inspectors told one of the girls that her shoelaces were wrong and she looked down at her feet and started arguing with the inspectors.  We all caught a mountain of crap for that one. Or when we came back from somewhere and our compartment had been torn apart and we all had to sort through the pile to  find our own belongings. 

So many memories.  Sometimes I don't like to sift through them because I can be a total idiot.  And I don't like to remember those parts because they make me cringe.  Even though those times are what made me who I am today. 

Yeah, total surprise here - but I am very far from perfect. 

I really believe that going into the Navy saved me from the directionless life I was leading.  So what if Ididn't make it a career?  It helped to shape the lump of clay that I was and I'm a better person for it.