I have often commented about the Circle of Life at the Naval Academy. I continue to be mesmerized by the way the Mids, all living in tight quarters under regimented conditions, manage to live lives in totally different cycles.
In this latest installment, the Plebes will select their majors this week. I’ve written about this before, but this is a big deal. In Normal College, students can bounce from one major to another with little care. The lone exception we ran into during our Mids’ search was Cal Poly. During a visit, we learned that once you were in a school, you were really in. Trying to switch majors meant applying to the other school. If the other school didn’t want you? Well, tough darts.
This is not just a big step in practical terms – I mean, let’s face it, they are picking the majors they will finish with. But it’s also a big symbolic step. This is a Normal College type of thing to do – you declare your major. The wheels have slowly been turning and as we soon start to emerge from the Dark Ages, the Plebes will literally and figuratively see daylight. Yes, Herndon will soon be upon us!
My Class of 2022 Herndon Climb podcast will be available soon. Can’t wait to share it!
While all this is happening, the rest of The Brigade moves on. My Mid is preparing for shoulder surgery to repair something injured during the exciting Sprint football championship season. He’s never had surgery, so we are just trying to keep ourselves from going completely out of our mind. We are thankful it is close to Spring Break so we can get him home to help him recover.
Despite that, life goes on – he came home for this weekend to place a piece for church. And, because it’s N*ot College, he pulled an all-nighter the night before trying to unscramble a cyber project. He announced at 6 a.m. that he had made no progress. The cycle continues, though, since one of our choir members happens to be an expert in the program the Mid is working with. So they exchanged phone numbers and as the Mid jetted back to The Yard, he talked code, hopefully getting closer to a resolution.
And I know the other Mids have their own stories. The cycle continues for all of them.
My Kid The Mid 