Soon-to-be-birthday thoughts

So I guess I haven't written in a little bit, and I figured now would be a good time to write as any.  

  Well, it's almost my birthday and I was just thinking about stuff, some of which I was talking about tonight at dinner, well.... not this in particular, but I was just thinking about it and that provoked my current thoughts.  Something I find myself doing on a regular basis is worrying too much and blowing things a little out of proportion.  As I've gotten older, I've gotten a lot better about this, but I still find myself doing it about small things, that when I look back, I don't see why I thought they were so important.  I look back on things that have happened in years past and I wonder what it was that I was so worried about when those things happened.  Of course there are some things that I understand why I cared so much about them, but most of those things that I worried so much about meant little to nothing in a couple of months, weeks, or even days later.   At least as I get a little older I can recognize that a little bit more.

Another thought I started writing about a week or so ago but never really finished (typical) is my thoughts on adversity.  I guess I'll skip a lot of what I wrote (this is why I never published it... I felt it was too detailed) and say that those things that we think are awful usually turn out to make us stronger in the long run.  I guess that's not a unique insight, but something I've still thought quite a bit about.  This thought spurred as a result of my thinking about making it through West Point and everything I went through there.  Going from being prior service and somewhat of an adult to being a cadet (aka, a child again) was a rather difficult transition, and I went through quite a bit of ups and downs.  Running, the one thing that kept me sane, was taken away when I got injured my freshman year and everything kind of went downhill from there until about... well, junior/senior year timeframe?  At that point I couldn't leave anyways :)  But there were several times I thought about leaving during my first two years, but I'm glad I didn't.  I know I'm not the only one who felt that way, either.  If there's one thing you learn while at West Point, or in the Army in general when you are forced to do things that just suck/are uncomfortable, that everything that is miserable eventually comes to an end.  That year with zero freedom freshman year, yeah, that eventually came to end.  Then eventually I graduated.  Whenever I deploy, that will eventually come to an end too (only nine month deployments now - hooray!)  I would say more about that, but I don't want to put bad ideas into my mom's head :)

I think this rings true more so for people in the military than people who live civilian lives because a civilian can just quit their job if they want... There may be consequences (for example, not being able to find another job), but they have that option.  In the military... not so much.  And you don't have a choice in most of what you do.  But I know this is no surprise to anyone... either way, you are put into situations that are uncomfortable and you just have to deal with them.  Whether it's training and sleeping out in the rain, working twelve hour days without a day off, or merely not being able to take a "sick day" unless you are REALLY sick, you just learn to deal with it.  And then, eventually, you get a break.  And you appreciate the break more than someone who has the option to just leave.  See, so everything that sucks eventually ends AND you appreciate it so much more once it's over.

Anyway, those are just some thoughts I have had recently... Not really new thoughts I guess, but I remembered to write them down (doesn't usually happen) :)  Alas, it is now GRE study time before I go to sleep.  These four a.m. days are killing me!

Love,
Nina