Paul Chung: Boot Camp

Boot camp... I hated it. Simply put it was probably one of the most trying trials in my entire life. It was difficult being away from family because I have never left home for that long period of time. The first 3 weeks were the most difficult. The army designs its training to strip away one's civilian identity from anything recognizable. They train soldiers, not entitled civilians. The difficulty was not the physical aspect of army training, but it was with the mental portion of it. If your mentality was not placed in the right mindset, you would fail at everything. Also emotional contentions were high. Emotional stability was just as important. To survive Basic Training, follow orders, and don't talk back. Accept one's fate whilst in the army. Granted, the army cannot take all aspects of your civilian side away, but the important part in training was not to lose oneself.

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