Dear 2021,

Congratulations, the easy part is over. By now, many of you will have found out that you have been accepted by the United States Naval Academy and are no doubt ecstatic about this new opportunity. For many of you who choose this path, you have little idea of what’s to come. And as a Plebe, still bound by the intricacies of a Plebe life, here’s the best preview I can offer:

Your summer before Induction Day will be short.

Once you get on the Yard, the first few days will be the hardest. You’ll learn more than you think faster than you thought you could, almost overwhelmed with the sheer amount of information being pushed into your head. After a while, the bubble you live in and the language you use will become almost natural. You’ll feel on edge, under pressure with nowhere to go. You’ll think seconds pass slower than hours did before your induction. You’ll become very good at a frontward leaning rest. That’s because you’ll have a lot of practice.

There will be moments when you just want to go home. Sundays might become the day where things move so slowly that you start to think of all you left back at home. You might cry. Let’s be honest, you’ll almost definitely cry. You’ll feel like the whole world is fighting to push you down. Someone who stands by your side for weeks might find the Academy is not the place for them, leaving a hollow space where one of your peers used to stay.

And then, out of the gloom that is the characteristic heat of Plebe Summer, you will find the best friends you will ever have. There will be people who drive you crazy in the summer, but who make the days pass with laughter in the academic year. People with views so different from yours will keep you sane, even if their personality or beliefs would have driven you apart in any other setting. You will see that everyone has a story, a talent and more than a handful of quirks.

Most of all, you will find that you could not have done it alone. There will be moments when you feel like you have failed or let down those struggling next to you. There will be times when you fall and can only be carried forward by the worn-out hands of those standing on the bulkhead to your left and right. The training staff, as hard as they seem on the outside, will push you beyond your limits to make you stronger. In the weakness you feel, there will soon be strength, there will be friendship, and there will be a lot of funny stories to share for decades. You have all the best ahead of you. Congratulations.

Very Respectfully,

Just a Plebe

P.S. If you guys could not be the Plebe Class that loses to Army for the second year, that’d be great. Thanks.