I, Karen Joy Castro Castillo,
Do solemnly swear that I will defend the Constitution of the United States
against all enemies, foreign and domestic,
that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same,
and that I will obey
the orders of the President of the United States
and the orders of the officers appointed over me,
according to regulations
and the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
So help me God.
Words cannot describe how proud I am right now, all sworn in and enlisted in the Army. Well technically, I'm not actually going to be enlisting with the Army--I'm still with the ROTC, but I have to "enlist" in order to get a slot for basic training. Once I get back from training, I will sign a new contract with the ROTC which will give me a 2 year scholarship and the opportunity to train with a Reserves unit as well as the opportunity to branch into the Medical Service Corps. Can you believe how much has developed since the last time I blogged here? Exactly one year ago I made the decision to try out ROTC, not knowing what will come out of it. The uncertainty has since solidified into affirmation that the Army is definitely something I want to be a part of.
Of course, this was in no way an easy decision. Throughout the whole year, ROTC has tested me physically, mentally, and emotionally. There have definitely been times where I've doubted my own abilities, whether I was really capable of doing everything that was asked of me. However, there have also been times where I've proved myself wrong, which revived my motivation and confidence to keep going.
My ultimate test came near the end of this year, when it came time for me to get a Basic Training slot. It was the end of April, and Major Perrin and SGT Wynne wanted me to be at the Body Fat Standard because time was running out to get me a BCT slot for the summer. I stepped on the scale, and disappointingly, I did not lose any weight since my last APFT. I was sent home again and asked to return a week later, in hopes that I would have lost a couple of pounds or inches off my waist. Ate less, ran more, and hoped that I'd make tape the next weigh in. A week later, step on the scale again, only to realize I GAINED a pound! At this point, MAJ Perrin was ready to choke me, and SGT Wynne told me to start coming up with a back up plan. Basically, they told me that if I really wanted this, I would find a way to lose FIVE pounds by the next week. A huge lump formed in my throat, and my heart sunk. How the HELL was I going to be able to pull that off?! Is it even possible?
I went home, numb and knowing that my career in the ROTC/Army was about to end because my stupid self couldn't lose the pounds in time to make it to Basic Training. Heck, why did I need to lose the weight if I was going to lose all of it AFTER training anyways? I felt defeated, and I was really close to giving up. Was this really worth me risking my health? After a night of ruminating and pensive thinking, I woke up the next day and decided to do something about this. I was NOT going to give up. Heck, the first 2 tenets of the Warrior Ethos are to never accept defeat, and to never quit. So I started drinking water. LOTS of water. I knew a lot of my weight was water weight, so my plan was to pee it out and sweat it out. I sat in saunas, I cycled with heavy sweats on, ate a lot of fiber to clean out my digestive system, did EVERYTHING. Before I knew it, it was time for me to go back to the unit again to get weighed. MAJ Perrin smiled at me, noting how much skinnier I looked. "Step up on the scale, Miss Castillo!" she said in her usual bright voice. I watched the weight level off at 161, down four pounds from last week, and a grin creeped on my face. LTC Hall came in to personally congratulate me on my achievement. "I am proud of you," he said, staring firmly into my eyes, "I know this has been hard for you, but there are not many people like you. You are not even overweight, but some people are just cursed with the way their body is shaped [there are people who are practically obese but manage to pass the tape test because of their body shape!]. You have kept up a consistent effort throughout this year and I have seen you grow and improve. Keep it up." Hearing this from the colonel meant a lot, especially at a time when I thought I really didn't belong. I did it. and I did it without dying, haha.
Take home message-- This whole experience can be summed up in Harriet Beecher Stowe's words: When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.
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