A funny thing happened in September 2003. I didn’t have much to say to my family back home. It’s kind of odd but maybe I wrote more letters to friends and extended family? One of the recruiters sent me the above letter, but in my trove of boot camp things, I didn’t have much to say at this point in my training to my immediate family.

What’s pretty funny is that I basically forgot what I wrote in the first letter and repeated myself in my second square away time. Can you say I was probably pretty sleep deprived?

And that love affair with sweets…it’s never gone away. I had a caramel pecan cookie and a red velvet cookie today from AJ’s Fine Foods. Yep, I like my sweets.

To give you some background on my letter below, my parents tricked me and told me my father would be unable to attend my boot camp graduation. My mom passed away my last day of sophomore year in high school and Sue is my stepmom. This quite personal letter to her is something I was originally on the fence about sharing, but it an important part of our relationship. I also think because I talk about being emotional the letter is something others should see about recruit training.

It’s a significant difference to go from an academic environment that encourages a lot of individual success to a culture that requires others to work together. The individual differences we bring to the table aren’t all great. We must recognize those selfish attributes we carry and be willing to work towards self improvement. It’s humbling, but we find better opportunities and partnerships when we make those conscious decisions.