Committment...
ok, doogie howser time. a journal entry of life lessons learned in 30 minutes.
"It is our responsibility to develop a selfless sense of duty that demands excellence both of ourselves and of those with whom we serve. We must honor our loyalties without compromising our ultimate obligation to the truth. Our leadership must set a standard that reflects loyalty to our goals and the courage to stand accountable for all our actions, both those that lead to success and to those that end in failure. We will never settle for achieving merely what is expected of us but will strive for a standard of excellence that reflects the dedication and courage of those who have gone before us. When we attain our goal, we will raise our expectations; when we fall short, we will rise up and try again. In essence, we espouse leadership by example, a leadership that will inspire others to follow wherever we may lead.
Countless challenges and trials lie before us. We believe that those with the strongest moral foundation will be the leaders who best reflect the legacy of the Naval Academy. This is our call as midshipmen: it is a mission we proudly accept.“
-Honor Treatise of the Brigade of Midshipmen
Tonight we had our committment dinner to formally recognize the committment we all made on saturday to stay in the navy. it was a big to do and members of the class of 1956 were there, they are our 50 year "link in the chain" sponsor class. i happened to escort one of them and he sat at our table and told stories of what this place used to be like so many years ago.
it was weird when i was heading over to the dinner, i was by myself because i had to be there early, and i was coming up the steps to alumni hall (our arena) and i had flashbacks of the very first day i reported. i could remember the tables of laundry bags and other various crap that i would soon be familiarized with by the friendly detailers lining the hallways as i walked up the stairs, then as i crested the stairs on one of the fancy TVs i saw "Congratulations class of 2006." it was pretty weird to think about what was going through my head 2 years ago and how i had never even thought about where i would be two years later. then i was confronted with another reality, as i was introducing myself to many distinguished 70 year old gentlemen with their loyal wives i wondered if i would be doing the same thing in 50 years. if i had weathered the storm as well as they had. i was fascinated by each new veteran i was introduced to, wondering how many stories were behind each wrinkle of their faces, wanting to ask in their infinite wisdom what they wish somebody had told them 50 years ago. i was left with a question from our speaker, a vice admiral, that yes, is pretty cheesy and maybe even trite, but it still impacted me, and im going to try to echo it to myself everyday in hopes of emulating a life that can be looked back upon proudly: "are you better off at the end of the day than you were at the beginning?"
casey, out.
"It is our responsibility to develop a selfless sense of duty that demands excellence both of ourselves and of those with whom we serve. We must honor our loyalties without compromising our ultimate obligation to the truth. Our leadership must set a standard that reflects loyalty to our goals and the courage to stand accountable for all our actions, both those that lead to success and to those that end in failure. We will never settle for achieving merely what is expected of us but will strive for a standard of excellence that reflects the dedication and courage of those who have gone before us. When we attain our goal, we will raise our expectations; when we fall short, we will rise up and try again. In essence, we espouse leadership by example, a leadership that will inspire others to follow wherever we may lead.
Countless challenges and trials lie before us. We believe that those with the strongest moral foundation will be the leaders who best reflect the legacy of the Naval Academy. This is our call as midshipmen: it is a mission we proudly accept.“
-Honor Treatise of the Brigade of Midshipmen
Tonight we had our committment dinner to formally recognize the committment we all made on saturday to stay in the navy. it was a big to do and members of the class of 1956 were there, they are our 50 year "link in the chain" sponsor class. i happened to escort one of them and he sat at our table and told stories of what this place used to be like so many years ago.
it was weird when i was heading over to the dinner, i was by myself because i had to be there early, and i was coming up the steps to alumni hall (our arena) and i had flashbacks of the very first day i reported. i could remember the tables of laundry bags and other various crap that i would soon be familiarized with by the friendly detailers lining the hallways as i walked up the stairs, then as i crested the stairs on one of the fancy TVs i saw "Congratulations class of 2006." it was pretty weird to think about what was going through my head 2 years ago and how i had never even thought about where i would be two years later. then i was confronted with another reality, as i was introducing myself to many distinguished 70 year old gentlemen with their loyal wives i wondered if i would be doing the same thing in 50 years. if i had weathered the storm as well as they had. i was fascinated by each new veteran i was introduced to, wondering how many stories were behind each wrinkle of their faces, wanting to ask in their infinite wisdom what they wish somebody had told them 50 years ago. i was left with a question from our speaker, a vice admiral, that yes, is pretty cheesy and maybe even trite, but it still impacted me, and im going to try to echo it to myself everyday in hopes of emulating a life that can be looked back upon proudly: "are you better off at the end of the day than you were at the beginning?"
casey, out.