It is finished

Well it has been a minute since I wrote last. My ship was preparing for INSURV and I barely had time enough to breathe let alone write about it all. It is done now. Deck is traditionally a problem area for INSURV. There was a lot of pressure for us to do well. Too much pressure I would say, but it is done now, and we did very well. The three days of the inspection were actually enjoyable. The inspectors were amazing and used the inspection as an opportunity to train young officers and sailors alike. It was a great experience for me to go through. Had you asked me that a month ago, I would have told you that I would rather be OC-sprayed everyday for a month than go through INSURV again. The experienc has taught me a lot about people, about leadership, and about being in the Navy.

I learned a lot about myself at the same time - the way I react to pressure, how I treat people, and how to lead a group of people in a very bad situation. For the four months leading up to INSURV I worked extremely hard every day. We were under constant scrutiny which added to everyone's stress level. But even with all that, I count the experience as a good thing. Very few things in the Navy will be harder than that, so they tell me.

God has taught me a lot in this time. Just like the first year of college, where I hated every day, the addition of a community made it bearable. I made a lot of new friends since January. Other officers from the ship, new people at church, and just meeting other people out and about. People are what matter. I have always known this and I try to concentrate on that, but with all the "work" going on I lost sight of that. God has blessed me with amazing people in my life. All of this has shown that God is always good in His plans and even in times of distress he has a plan to better me. I have a four day weekend and I am going to live it up like a king. I think we deserve it.