For the first six weeks of our time here we learned all the basics of being a cadet and also a soldier. I asked some of my friends back home what they did over the summer and they just said, “You know. Just went to the beach and partied all summer.” Now I know you are thinking that that sounds awesome and way better than Beast, but think about it. We got to rapple off a cliff, fly in a helicopter, shoot M4 rifle, detonate a claymore, and create relationships with our Beast squad that none of our friends back home can relate. To be totally honest Beast sucked going throuhg it but i am glad that I went through it because I have definitely grown from my Beast experience.

Now once we entered the academic year we had to switch off being mindless new cadet to a critical thinking cadet. I know I at least have made the joke when I do something stupid by saying, “What? I am a plebe I can not think for myself.” However, I do feel that now I do not live up to that joke anymore because I have gone from being a new cadet totally dependent on my squad leader to a plebe who can think for himself. Now that we are having to get up by ourselves and navigate West Point by ourselves we have become more independent and more responsible.

Now that we have more time we also have become more responsible or more irresponsible. I feel that having this much time from being in beast to now being in the academic year we are in a sink or swim part of our academic career. I feel that some people do not take advantage of all the time we now have to do their school work and instead just fill it with dead time and absolutely no productivety. However, some people or cadets do use their time wisely and get all their work done in a timely fashion and will later succeed in the lives.

Finally, now that we are in the very final stretch of the school year we need to push for the final stretch. With all the skills and responsibility we have obtained in our time during the academic year and during beast we will finish strong. At least that is the idea. Some people might crash and burn but we can only hope that they do not crash and burn.

Everyone we run into has their own little story. We are unique in our own special way, and our stories can amaze anyone we tell it to.

I came from South Korea and entered 4th grade in America, knowing one simple word: Apple. I acquired that word during English class one day in Korea, when we learning the alphabets. We learned that A is for apple, B is for bear, and C is for cat. My memory failed me, so I was stuck with only one of the three knowledge that I learned that day. I never bothered to go back to visit that lesson again, which is why my English was so terrible. My first two years were spent studying with the ESL (English as secondary language) class, where I learned how to say stubbles of incomprehensible words. Needless to say, my grades were atrocious. I gave up on studying and began focusing on my friends, who were not the best influence to me. I began going out, and would not stop seeing my friends even when my grades suffered. This choice I made impacted not only my grades but also the relationship with my family. As my parents became disappointed in me and saw their dreams of my future crushed, we became aloof as a family and began getting into more fights, mainly regarding my grades. This continued until sophomore in high school. Then, my parents made that one decision that completely changed my life. Just like Wes, my parents decided to send me to a military school; a school called Valley Forge Military School.

Since this is the school where I entered with a clean slate, I find it appropriate that a fresh paragraph is started. I enrolled as a cadet with my GPA lower than any of you can imagine. I was not exceptional in any sports, and was rather shy since I had no experience with stepping in front of a group of people. My beginning days at Valley Forge were not any better than how Wes described his. I woke up to cadets who were the same age or younger than I was screaming into my room, demanding that I put both my feet on the cold, vanilla tiles that covered my floor. I reached around my desk to find my glasses and rushed outside my door and stood at attention for a few minutes. After a full accountability was taken, we put on our gym alphas and went outside at 0500 for some PT. Now, this is where problems started up for me. First, I am a terrible runner, and to make matters even worse, I have not worked out for two years. Second, my chains of command were extremely grumpy that morning because of a cadet like Wes. One cadet simply refused to get off his bed, and when the higher ups came in (CO, XO, 1st Sgt), he sluggishly got up and stood with an attitude. All this, combined with terrible food, no social contacts outside of school and calling Valley Forge my new “home” simply made it unbearable for me.

Wes emphasized the importance of wealth and status, and how such opportunities changed the path the two incredibly similar individuals took. Those two components are important in order to attain as many opportunities one can grab onto, but they are not the shortcut to success in life. I believe that holding onto that chance given and persevering through hardship is much more important. I can say this by giving personal experiences that I went through, as well as seeing my close friends at Valley Forge change. When I got the fact that I’m stuck at Valley Forge for the remainder of my high school years through my thick skull, I began to do much better. I became thankful for this unique opportunity that my parents gave me, and began to challenge myself by seeking academic improvement. During senior year, I became that leader that I looked up to and feared. I led an entire company of my peers, became the poster boy for my school as their annual “successful cadet” who they commercialize. Whenever a VIP came to our school, I was the one they called to give the tour and to make the first impression on the school. Also, I was accepted to the school that I would not have even dreamed of attending with my old life.

While I was able to turn my life around by accepting the chance given and trying hard, others were not so fortunate. There were numerous students who kept their initial attitude that got them to the school in the first place. They graduated with the same attitude but now worse off than before because they squandered that opportunity. We look at the more fortunate and wealthier than us and say that life is unfair. How come they get all that while I am stuck with just this? Grab onto whatever is provided and you may be surprised by how far it can lead you.

Today as me and two other friends were finishing up with lunch we decided we would walk to the lecture together. Somehow the mess hall always seems to turn in to one giant maze when I have to find an exit other than the one I use every day. So me and my two other friends are searching for the main entrance by Washington statue so we can head to the lecture. As we walk through the poop deck one friend quickly shouts my name because somehow I ended up going the complete opposite direction they were going. Standing under the poop deck happened to be three different Sgt. Majors… talk about horrible luck.

As we walk away we hear our very own Sgt. Major Fletcher call all three of us back. Standing there at parade rest, preparing for the worst was not the best feeling. Each Sgt. Major took one of us and lectured us for talking and laughing for about three minutes. It was one of those moments where the only thing that comes to mind is either no excuse… or an excuse that you know would only cause more harm to your case. After we were all three let go we ran in to Sgt. Major Burnett who had witnessed the entire thing. With a smile he said “how are you guys doin? Probably not so good now huh?”. It was amazing how I could go from getting verbally beaten by one Sgt. Major to being built right back up by another.

This was not a very pleasant experience but it is one I will always remember. It is a story I can now look back at and laugh.

I know that everyone has some funny “only at West Point” stories. Post ‘em if you got ‘em.

Although I did not have a childhood like Wes Moore I was able to relate to him. Even if he did not make the decision to go to Valley Forge or even to stay he later made the committed himself to the school. Originally I was not very excited about coming to the Academy. Similarly to Wes my parents really pushed me to come. During cadet candidate basic training at the prep school I was set on quitting. I talked to my coach and wrote my parents telling them how miserable I was and that I just wanted to go home. My coach convinced me finish up basic and my parents said about the same. It has definitely been a journey since the first day I first reported. I have often questioned why I’m here. I mean I could be at home with my family, going to a regular college, basically doing whatever I want so why would I choose to come to the Academy?

After Wes Moore’s lecture I realized how selfish it would be of me to just quit. Yeah it would be easy to quit. I could have a “normal” life. All I would ever think about was me and how I felt. Now I think about all the people who helped me to get here, everything that my parents have sacrificed to help me be successful and happy. The even bigger picture of our country and the people who depend on our military. The commitment of West Point is far larger than the individual cadet. Yes we are sacrificing a lot but we are sacrificing to make our country a better place.

Every since I was little I knew that in some way I wanted to help people. People who needed someone to care. When I was little I thought that would be easy. I now see that there is a great deal of sacrifice involved in changing the world. Although I hate my life some days I have to remind myself that my sacrifices will pay off in the end. We are all sacrificing for the greater good.

We all made the decision to come to West Point for different reasons but we all made the decision and it will change us forever. Who knows, any one of us could have been the other Wes Moore.