Second thoughts.

[ColeGyreneJROTC]

Is it at all normal to have second thoughts about joining the Corps during the time between enlistment and your ship date to Parris Island?
I'm just over 2 months away from my ship date and I'm struggling to stay focused on the goal of becoming a Marine.
This is something that's been my dream for say, the last 5 years or so.
But I've found myself in a funk lately of wondering what will happen with my friends, my family, and the comfort that I've found with making the place that I live my home.
I'm doing everything I can to remain focused and put those thoughts out of my mind, but I need to know if it's normal or if I need to reevaluate joining the Corps.

[Vulture6]

It is absolutely normal – if you didn’t have second thoughts there might be something wrong with you.

You know the reasons why you’ve dreamed of being a Marine. You know the doors that it may open for you and the challenges it will present. None of that has changed.

What you are experiencing is a fear of change. As the commercial says, the change is forever. You will not come back from boot camp the same. You probably won’t feel much different, but you’ll notice how everything and everyone else is different. It’s okay and natural to have a little fear – there will be much more of that in your future. But the thing to do is to recognize the fear for what it is, and put it aside and over come it. It will be difficult, and become even more difficult before everything is over, but it will definitely be worth it.

Hang tough and tell that little voice in the back of your head to shut up. You'll do fine.

[USMCRET6391]

What Vulture said, take his word for it.......you'll be fine

[ArchAngel]

I'm sure I'll be in the same boat pretty soon, I'll be going to boot camp next June (07) and this June I start DEP, I'm nervous even now, but I am excited to apart of such a great brotherhood.

[Grimmy]

I was scared shitless the last few months before bootcamp. I, pretty much, had myself convinced I was gonna die at MCRD.

[USMC Chuter]

Yep, it's normal. The second thoughts you're feeling now are nothing compared to the ones you'll be experiencing when you get to MCRD. We all had them though, and they'll pass. You're leaving your comfort zone and diving into the great unknown, especially given the current world situation. You're to be commended for taking that step. The "great unknown" will, before long, become a new comfort zone for you and you'll grow in immeasurable ways. Stay in touch with your recruiters and surround yourself with reminders of why you joined in the first place. You'll do fine. The pride and satisfaction you'll have after earning your place among the Few and Proud will far outweigh the regret and self-doubt you'll feel for the rest of your life is you back down from what you've dreamt of for the last five years. If you were joining the Corps on a whim, you might have some things to consider.. But you've got to trust five years of consideration over a few weeks or months of jitters. Good luck.

[ArchAngel]

What makes me ok with the jitters of going to the Marines is the simple fact that everyone has had them. I've read several books by Marines that start off with a chapter or two on their boot camp experience and every single one has said right when the DI got on the bus "What the hell did I do?!" Every book I've read has had that in there, it seems to be the first thought of every recruit when that DI gets on the bus and starts the mind rape.

[SGRock]

LOL. I think everyone remembers that. The Drill Instructor comes onto the bus and stands at the front of the aisle. The driver turns in his seat and smiles. He's obviously seen this quite a few times. The Drill Instructor introduces himself in a voice that fills every nook and cranny of the bus; welcomes you to "HIS" Island (Parris Island) and then announces that you have ten seconds to get off of his bus, nine of them are gone and you BETTER NOT step on his shoes. I swear I saw someone climb out of one of the bus windows.

I will never forget that!

[cincymarsdad]

Heck, they even let GIRLS into Recruit Training these days!!!

From what my daughter writes me, no amount of preparation, seeing the videos, listening to those who have been there, can really prepare you for the shock of those first few days in Forming. But then, every week they graduate 300-400 at PI alone who get through it. Work hard to be prepared physically and mentally and then just hunker down, says someone who has never done it. Visualize what it will mean to you standing on that parade deck just a few short weeks (OK, thirteen long weeks" ahead and how your life will be forever different. And visualize how your life will be different NOT doing that.

[Grimmy]

There's always alot said about being ready physically and that's a good thing. The hardest part of BootCamp tho is the emotional and psychological and no amount of practice will ready you for that

There will be a night, early in the process, where you lay in your rack for a few mins and rub your stubbly head and ask yourself "wtf? did I do?"

[USMCRET6391]

Originally Posted by Grimmy

There will be a night, early in the process, where you lay in your rack for a few mins and rub your stubbly head and ask yourself "wtf? did I do?"

Yeah about 2230 on night two

[ColeGyreneJROTC]

Thanks for everything, your advice is the best I've gotten.
Expect to hear more and more from me as I get closer to that ship date.