And So It Begins…..

Etch, great read. You are making a fellow Marine proud. You have one of the best trainers around, but I am sure you already know this. Keep doing what you do.

Now all you have to do is trifecta.

Enjoy PSD while you can.

Maybe Kearsey can help get you a good trainer for the 50k miles of TNT. That’s when the “fun” really begins.

Day 6. Today was a day off. Decided to hit the pad for a few hours. Some in my class have been having trouble with pre-trip so they wanted me to run through it with them. It helps them and the extra practice certainly isn’t going to hurt me. Hopefully I’ll be able to test soon. I feel like I’m ready. Been trying to follow Kearsey’s instructions to the letter. I’ve got pre-trip down solid and I’m confident in the backing maneuvers. Wouldn’t mind a few more hours of road time, and I’m sure that won’t be a problem to get.

Hitting it early again tomorrow. Trying to soak up all I can and take advantage of my time on the pad. There are some here who do nothing but haul ass back to the hotel the minute their trainer is done with them and they just want to sit around and do nothing. I don’t understand that mentality so I just avoid those types. I’m here to get a job so if that means 12 hours a day on the pad- then I’m out there for 12 hours. I’ve only been here a week and already you can start seeing a separation in the students. You can see those who want this and are willing to put in the work- and then there are the ones who are half stepping through the process. It’s a good thing that I am the one controls how I want to train and not weighted down by the lazy and unmotivated. I’ve got a trainer that will continue to push me. My end of that agreement is that I have to be willing to be trained. If not then I would just be wasting her time.

Gonna be a good day tomorrow. I can already feel it. Stay humble. Stay hungry. Always be the hardest worker in the room.

Day 7. So today Kearsey rewarded all my hard work by taking me on a roller coaster. It went up and down. It had sharp curves. It had leans. She called it a road. I guess by definition it would be since it was paved and did have lines painted on it. In reality it was a path just barely wide enough to walk on. Now before you accuse me of exaggerating- look up Highway 125 in Springfield. For those that have been on it know what I’m talking about.

I’m feeling more confident in my backing. We have graduated from the cones to some real world backing. The techniques learned with the cones are the same. But instead of lines on a pad we now have trailers on either side of the space. Once again, trusting in what has been taught takes the intimidation out of it. For me backing almost has a type of flow. I picture where my trailer needs to go and then I kinda trace out the line it needs to be on to get there. It’s almost like shooting a game of pool. You have to be able to see the line the ball will take when struck at a particular angle. This probably sounds way off the charts.

Pre-trip I have down solid. I’ve been getting brought down to the pad by some in my class to help them with it. I’m thinking about charging a tutoring fee….lol. When I’m not doing that, I’m swinging at every curveball Kearsey throws at me. With each one my confidence builds and I’m more relaxed behind the wheel. So until next time- stay humble. Stay hungry. Be the hardest worker in the room.

These are great daily updates, Etch!

Day 8. So today was not a good day. This morning I couldn’t get a pre-trip right at all. That’s usually my thing. If there’s anything I can do- it’s a solid pre trip. Hell, I would mess it up even if I was allowed to read it straight off the sheet. This afternoon I couldn’t do a simple alley dock. Again, a maneuver I can do without any hesitation or difficulty. All day I was just off. And this isn’t me complaining because all was not perfect. That isn’t it at all. But I do try to push myself. Today felt like I let not only myself down, but also my trainer who has invested a lot of time in me even before I got here.

Shake it off. Hitting the rack early tonight. Kearsey doesn’t need me until 2 tomorrow afternoon so I’m considering not going to the pad like I usually do in the mornings. Maybe a morning off will help get my head back in the game. I say that now, but come 0600 I’ll be dressed and ready to hit it. I took it on the chin today. Tomorrow I’ll be back out there swinging.

We all have bad days. You will bounce back just fine, as you said as much yourself. I believe it's just human nature that once in a while there are those days where nothing seems to be right, even things we can do with ease seem to be monumental failures. It's good to experience this now because you will have those days on the road. You just do your best to double check yourself and keep a positive attitude. Beyond that, it's live and learn.

Etch,

I am rereading Eric Fromm's The Art of Loving. In the book he makes the general point that to become good at any given art or skill you need three things: discipline, concentration, and patience.

There is the saying that patience is a virtue. But for people, like you, who are anxious to immediately become good at something, sometimes patience is a virgin.

Give yourself a break. You'll get it.

I totally agree with Chief Brody on this Etch. Patience is important through-out every aspect of training and solo operation. It never ends.

A few years ago there was a good discussion on patience, thought it might help you through this and set expectations going forward.

Patience - How to Deal With It