Personal Narrative: Joining The US Marines

I always wanted to challenge myself, and for some reason I thought joining the United States Marines Corps would do that. I definitely got way more than I bargained for, and immediately regretted the decision I had made. My recruiter had a major influence on helping make the choice to join the Marines, and I will always feel some sort of resentment towards him. But while we go through these challenges, it is important to realize that they are what help define us as human beings. The hardest challenge that I have endured so far in my life was the three months I spent on Paris island, SC. The torture that takes place at Paris Island affected me not only physically, but mentally as well. With each month that passes during the three-month time
There were plenty of times where I felt like I was being brainwashed because I started to forget things I used to know so well. The first month at Paris Island is designed to break me down, and take everything I used to know and replace it with things that I need to know to survive in combat. During the first month, I was stuck in my squad bay spending all day getting hazed by my drill instructors, who are pretty much steroid and pre-workout addicts that were made to destroy you. Every single thing I did from sleeping to using the bathroom is counted down by mouth from the drill instructors. I was given a very short amount of time to put on each piece of clothing every time I got dressed, and even eat my food. In fact, sometimes I would not have enough time to eat and would have to go without. When I arrived at Paris Island I weighed one hundred and ninety pounds, and when I left I weighed one hundred and fifty pounds. We ran and screamed at the top of our lungs all day. It was so bad that everyone would lose their voices by the end of the first week. At night when I would stand guard, I could hear other recruits screaming in their sleep what they had been screaming during the day. The first month was the worst because of how homesick I was, and all the adjusting I had to
We were taught what to do and not to do in everyday life situations, and how to wear our uniforms properly. We had rifle platoon inspections every week which consisted of an officer coming in and inspecting every inch of our uniforms and rifles to make sure that nothing was out of place. The third month also included a three-day test called the Crucible. This is where we use all of the training we had learned so far and spend three days in the woods with very little food, sleep, and water. It is important to note that the entire time throughout training we were still screaming and getting hazed by the instructors. It never got easier, I just got used to