10 days left. 10 days until I don my Class A uniform and begin my celebration. 10 days until I am somewhat free again. 10 days until I may almost forget my drill sergeant's name as well as my chain of command. 10 days...

This has been an extremely different experience, a complete departure from everything I had known previously. What is it like, you may ask. Yes, I may tell you all the happenings and experiences related to Basic Training, I may even relate them with skill and vitality. One can never really understand what it is like, however, until he has been there. And to all who have made it, there is a bond of common experience, a lingo and a jargon completely of its own.

The last few weeks have been a flurry of ecstatic highs, dropping lows, and a good amount of steady, middle ground. Some days you wake up and wonder if you'll ever make it, see the huge wall of work ahead of you and want to quit, to give up. Other days you assume an unrealistic sense of optimism, almost a delusional device to maintain sanity. A favorite song pops into your head, you hear a snatch of radio news, see a glimpse of a familiar TV show, and for a brief moment you are human again. You trudge on in the dripping heat of June in Missouri, and just as you want to scream, to wimp out, a guiding thought- a protector- restrains you and reestablishes your equilibrium. There is always hope and humanity, no matter what you may be going through. There is always a glimmer of logic in the midst of chaos and disordered thinking. You just have to know how to find it.

Mail, thank goodness for the USPS! Letters and correspondence are an important link to normal people and their normal lives, an opportunity to live vicariously through the happenings of their days. Something as simple as reading of going to McDonalds or watching TV evokes keen interest, as well as a plethora of remembrances and sentiments. It also separates, draws the line ever deeper to delineate the utter contrast of life "on the inside" to normal civilian life.

Sometimes the frailty of your biological, human body horrifies you as you ponder the "what ifs" of physical ailments. "What if I twist or break a limb? What if I get the flu and cannot complete training? What if I die suddenly?" These you must push away, for they are nothing more than borrowed trouble. You must take each step, breathe each breath, and count each heartbeat with a grateful sense of endurance. Sickness and injury are not options. You are not going to die at Basic Training. You are going to graduate with all appendages intact. This, along with a thankful heart toward God, will carry you through.

You must also remember that very few events end the world. Life will go on even if you do not get a "GO" first time at BRM Pop-Up Targets. Things are only as bad as you let them seem. The responsibility to tell yourself the truth is yours and yours alone.

Finally, you must be strong, you must view yourself as a soldier, motivated, competent, and able. You must rise to meet whatever challenge faces you with confidence and preparation. You must articulate what needs articulation, do what needs doing, and get the job done. You must face the day.

You must also remember that life will not always be like basic training. Life will normalize, training will cease, and what you're made of- your "grit" or lack therof- will be displayed for the world to see. So "drive on", push your way through, and you will eventually find relief. And when you do, what a sweet, blessed relief it will be. Hoo-ah! Let's graduate!