A Typical Week at USAFA

My family and friends have had great difficulty understanding what a weekly, let alone daily, schedule looks like for me. So I have turned to excel in hopes to finally be able to explain it clearly. Below is what a typical week looks like. I try to work out for about 1-1.5 hours every day although that does not always happen. I have cyber warfare team practice every day except on Friday during 6th and 7th period. I'm also on a competitive programming team that meets Tuesday at 1530 and Wednesday at 1830. I aim to make both practices but I have intramurals during 1530 on Tuesdays, when the day happens to be a T day.

Our school days alternate between M Days and T Days. The schedule changes slightly for me based on the day. For example, on M Days during 5th period I have Military Call to Quarters (MCQ), while on T Days I have an actual class. Unlike most colleges, I have to attend every class unless on bed rest or have some kind of prior approved excusal. Missing class leads to demerits, confinements, and marching with a rifle.

MCQ for me is sometimes a free period, if the Cadet Wing has not been scheduled for anything such as briefings, or I'm not at a Group Commander's Review Board (GCRB) taking notes on the cadet under review (you do not want to be the cadet under review). I am on Group Staff this semester serving as the Operations Non-Commissioned Officer, so I have more responsibilities and am a little busier than I would be if I had remained in my Squadron, CS-28 (Badass Blackbirds). On the rare occasion I do not have homework, academic call to quarters is also my free time and one of the best times to get a hold of me. Although being in bed by taps is what I strive for, it rarely happens and depends on the amount of homework I have to complete due the next day.

The weekends do not always start Friday after school ends. Sometimes we have what are called silver weekends, mandatory training Friday night through Saturday. These encompass being required to attend football games, to combat training, and or Saturday Morning Inspections (SAMI). Weekends without any training are called blue weekends and are far and few in between. 

The two goobers below, Matt (left) and Cameron (right), are some of my best friends here. I usually work out with them. When I'm not feeling motivated to go down, they drag my butt down to the gym. They also help keep me going when life is not that enjoyable. The are both computer science majors, like myself, and we are high-fiving in binary below. 101 = 5 in binary. These are just some of the incredible friends here that I am blessed to have in my life. My friends here, my family, friends back home, and Chelsea all motivate and inspire me to keep pressing and give my all in this demanding enviornment.

Where I am in Life: United States Air Force Academy

Well this is my first post on my recently created blog. I am currently a Junior attending the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado, just outside Colorado Springs. Initially I was not accepted to the Academy, so I did a year of prep school at Marion Military Institute in Marion, Alabama to earn my appointment. Even though MMI was a long year and it would have been awesome to directly enter the academy, it was at little ole' Marion where I met the love of my life, Chelsea Lynn Kay. Besides meeting Chelsea, I made a lot of great friends and feel MMI helped shape me and give me a direct perspective of the Army not many Air Force Cadets have.

I am in no way arrogant enough to think being accepted into the Academy or making it to my Junior year was by my own merits. I could not have been as successful in my life or at the Academy without the support and love of my friends and family. Many nights when I'm tempted and ready to give up, my friends, family, and Chee have been there for me with words of encouragement and love. On top of that, just being here along with all the other incredible experiences in my life I've been given, are blessings more than I deserve.