A Mixture Of Emotions As Orientation Date Approaches....

......in ten days....I leave Sunday, Feb. 7th for Omaha, NE to start my orientation and training with Werner on Monday, Feb. 8th. Whew!!! Find myself feeling excited yet in the next breath, I'm nervous, a little anxious and scared. I know, I know, put your big girl panties on Lynn...right?!! Just starting to pack and gather needed documentation etc. ~Each day, a new beginning.~ As much as I've wanted this career since high school and it's finally becoming a reality, I guess the emotions I'm feeling are probably the norm. *lets out breath* LOL I'll be in touch. In the meantime, drive safe.

cross posted in Ladies category

Exciting isn't it? I leave Saturday night headed for Iowa with a February 1 start date at WST. I went to start packing my huge duffel and discovered my oldest daughter requisitioned it. Amazon won't let me down. . Ordered a replacement with 1 day delivery so I will have it Friday. Still enough time to pack. But yes, I'm getting butterflies.

I'm leaving soon too ladies. I go from excited to incredibly nervous. This is a huge transition for us 😊 Good luck to you both.

Best of luck to you too, Miss Red!

Best of luck to both of you - Sue and Miss Red. Butterflies? I haven't used that term in quite some time.

Yeah, I'd say I'm more barfy than anything. Butterflies are too cute to produce this sensation 😛

Gee! Three girls together, all giggly and everything!

Best if luck to you all in your new career!

Anyone that's getting started in trucking needs to remember that you're all certainly capable of making it out there. It's not a matter of 'if' you can do it. Millions of people are doing it right now. Many tens of millions have done it for decades. It's just truckin. It takes time to learn the skills and it takes time to learn how to manage life on the road, no doubt about it. And it's not easy by any means. It's a roller coaster ride and there will be some hard lessons along the way. And of course many long, exhausting days.

But it's trucking - it's totally doable. So try your best at all times to just stay relaxed and be confident. Never doubt your ability to learn and adapt. Just be patient and keep learning each day. If you're not in trucking one year from now it won't be because you couldn't do it. It will be because you found something you'd rather do.

And some advice to anyone that's new to trucking, and even a little more so for the ladies......act like you're relaxed and confident even if your knees are shaking so hard you might fall over. Trucking attracts a lot of alpha males and instinctively a percentage of them are provoked when they sense fear in someone. Either they detest fearful people which means you annoy them, or they're the schoolyard bully type that sees you as an easy target to pick on. Regardless of why it happens, acting fearful or insecure seems to bring out the worst in some people, and that can include school instructors, road trainers, CDL examiners, DOT officers, dock workers, and other drivers.

Not only that, but being a trucker requires that you maintain control over your emotions. You can't crumble when the pressure is on, you can't explode when someone cuts you off, and you can't threaten people when they won't unload you fast enough. You have to remain calm and think clearly, especially when the pressure is on.

So practice keeping relaxed and confident. When you feel overwhelmed, and you will at times, take a deep breath and remind yourself that it's only trucking. It's not easy and you knew it wouldn't be, but it's totally doable.

Thanks for the advice, Brett. I'm departing for Springfield MO this morning, and need it.

Headed to Swift in Utah! February 15th!