Last night, the mess deck staff put on a Finals Breakfast from 2300 until 0100.  I guess they figured that most people would be up that late studying, so they’d give us an opportunity to take a break and grab something to eat.  It was pretty good: scrambled eggs, french toast sticks, bacon, sausage, tater tots, and the usual assortment of breakfast sandwiches and omelettes.

There was a very good turnout; just guessing, I’d say that over half the corps of cadets showed up.  I happened to be studying for my Coastal Navigation final today (I’m taking a study break this morning to write this), so it was nice to have an excuse to get out of the room and refresh.

Finals will be going on starting today through Tuesday.  I only have my Coastal Navigation final this week; all my other finals are on Monday, which is kind of a drag.  No big deal though, I’ll have all weekend to study so I should be fine.

Countdown until expected departure for the year: 6 days, 3 hours, 39 minutes!

This week is the last full week of classes for the semester, marking the beginning of the end. Starting on Wednesday next week, final exams will be given.  We’ll be having closed-door study hours on the freshman decks to allow us to study without disturbances, and prepare for finals more effectively.

We’re also making preparations to go home for the summer.  As part of the procedure for closing out the semester, we have to fully clean the company, as well as our rooms, to an Admiral’s-like level.  Once the company and all the rooms are cleared by the company officer on the last day, we are free to go.  Obviously this is a major priority with cadets!

Since the regular regimental routine for freshmen is all but over for us, I’ve been giving some thought to what we did this year, and what we’ll be doing next year.  We dealt with a lot of structure and commitment this year, most of it pretty frustrating (cleaning stations in the morning & evening, musters, study hours, etc.) and seemingly in the way.  However, as much as we may have complained about it, we all had that in common, which I’ve come to realize has really helped bond us as a company, and as shipmates.  That’s not to say that I enjoy those things any more - I don’t, especially cleaning stations - but simply that I can appreciate them for their effect on us.  Next year we’ll have almost no regimental obligations, short of inspections and morning formation.  We’ll basically be regular college sophomores with uniforms.  It’s going to be nice to have more freedom and responsibility, but at the same time it’s going to be weird not having somebody looking over our shoulder constantly.

Anyway, enough personal reflection.  Countdown to expected departure: 11 days, 15 hours, 12 minutes!