1: Let the youth respectfully quietly walk out and drink water and go to the bathroom without permission and walk and stretch to get something without getting in trouble, that's exactly what the military is, and getting detention for being 15 minutes late? Detention? Detained? Home Detention sounds very Fascistic police state like, a lot of schools don't allow that.
2: Memorizing words and filling in worksheets with pencils don't help that much and NCEA examines do not get one a job at, skills do like wood work or cooking or IT or sowing, expectation of only university/polytech, at least cooking or woodwork with others are legit skills unlike sitting on a table wasting 40 minutes of your life memorizing how and why the frog crossed the road with a pencil trying to spell ''ELECTR_CA_N TO H_NT FRO_'' "TO G_T TO FR_ANC_''
3: Keeping them silent in the class all the time will destroy their talking and communication skills especially for job interviews!!!
4: Many state schools are treating people who are on the verge of being adults like like micromanaged infants in a prison/military or live stock... the result? Stress, anxiety, anger, depression and conflict and taking out stress on other pupils and those pupils have no respect for anybody and devolving into sociopaths or psychopaths and even by now maybe having record numbers of work place violence due to bullying. By now 10% of NZ Adults by now who are truly scared of the world and live in front of screens 24/7 playing video games or social media or on drugs or alcohol living on the benefits not saying who people who don't work are bad at all ok? Because they never were respected as being a Human / a growing little man / little women in their school AKA ''NEET's'' I'm sorry this happened to you people, read books and go outside and watch the Swans in the park! NEET's! Don't give up! Life is beautiful! Godbless!
5: Back in the olden days most of the all youths when they turned 14 - 15 off to the factories or military you went and it was tough but you got earned cash and you worked and talked to adults a lot! Same thing in 3rd world nations!
6: The top professions that most attracts sex predators? Teachers or principals / jobs in secondary school education, police officers and priests with church clergy and 3rd world country aid workers not saying homeschool is the the solution but remember, sex predators are very, very smart and likable people, always have a theme of being a central figure or leadership in those types of circles not always but yeah...
7: I read Epstein FBI files last of all and Epsteins sex trafficking network was very, very well networked to many of the US School systems and admin staff and school boards always well linked in the Florida US area.
8: You cannot be too smart or too slow, what's the point taking the youngsters their making them stay 7 hours a day without any backing or funding or support? Useless. If they're too smart then get them to teach the class and help other students.
9: The lack of knowledge and uselessness of school counselors that don't understand Trauma or PTSD in children since a majority of mental health issues come from trauma
10: And if you had a good school that did allow all that was right then please thank those teachers or your parents, that's all I will say, please be happy and grateful!
11: No, no matter what Hollywood says high school prison system will never the best time of a lot of people lives, for most people it's at least their late teens to early 20's getting stupidly blacked out smashed on booze. swearing at bouncers, spewing all over the concrete and kicking over bins and bar fights, dancing to ugly remixed pop music you hate, chasing girls and gouging down junk food at 2pm and getting thrown in the cells or having dirty flats full of booze bottles and someone puked all over the couch sleeping on it as well at 10am and destroyed toilet of even more puke and urine with your xbox controllers being sticky and gross and where's the halo disc at?? And for me that was an expensive hobby and I regret not saving up for overseas or doing more hiking or outdoors.

This is probably a longer story than it really is, but I am just trying to give as much context as I can.
In grade 11, me (F16-17) and my ex-friend (F16-17) were best friends. For some context, we both became friends fairly early in high school. In my country high school is from grade 8-grade 12. I joined the high school in grade 8 from out of city, the high school is just closer to me than the one in my city, so I was a new kid. I made some friends in grade 8 as a new kid but those friendships did end in grade 9. Grade 9 is when my best friend, we'll call her Emily, transferred to the school. And we formed a friendship. Through grade 9 we had formed our own little friend group with 2 other girls, we'll name them Clara and Sabrina. It was the 4 of us through majority of high school. We would always text each other, always hang out after school, spend any break we had at school together and had as much fun as any girls in high school could have (minus the partying because my school is not a partying school).
Emily and I were the closet in the friend group, afterall we were pretty similar and come from similar backgrounds (We're both a type of asian). We both would be described as the smart kids. We both would end up getting high grades in all of our classes. In grade 9, when we met, she told the friend group her dream was to become a doctor like her parents were, so she studied extra hard in high school to keep her grades high. I, on the other hand, did not really have any specific dreams. I wanted to become a writer or even a lawyer (but was worried because I'm not the best speaker). Due to that, I never tried that hard at school. Like i care about grades, my parents cared a lot about me getting high grades, but I wasn't studying for anything. And with that I never really studied either, I would do my homework and pay attention in class and take pretty notes but I was not spending any real time after class to do work Which is something that Emily would do. She would spend hours and hours a day just studying. If she wasn't studying she would be doing some volunterring or some club stuff.
Fast forward to grade 11. Right from the beginning of the year something just felt odd about our relationship. She seemed distant. Which I chalked up to it being we were now considered seniors at our high school so she was starting to stress about universities already, but it was still whatever. My school worked in semesters, so for half of the year we would have 4 specific classes which would then switch to different classes in second semester. During first semester I didn't have any classes with any of my friends. I was just chilling in all of my classess and getting adopted into different group friends in those classes. I was always well-liked in high school, I was not a popular kid. But compared to all the smart kids in the school, I was deemed the nicest so because of that everyone would be nice to me and friendly (even though I know for some of them it was so they could get hw answers out of me, but they were still very nice to me).
During this time, my friends and I would make up plans to hang out. We always made it a point to hang out at least once a week outside of school. It was always after school, we would usually study, walk around or go to the mall. In our gc on insta we would always double check with one another on which days to do it. Clara, Sabrina and I would always talk in the gc and were always the ones initiating the plans. Emily was also in the gc but would rarely reply to anything. Any times we would make plans to hang out, Emily would either not reply (which would then lead us to asking her during lunch the next day if she was free, where she would barely talk) or she would just say no to all plans. The few times she would say yes, she would always cancel the day of. Which would be annoying, and Clara, Sabrina and I would talk amongst ourselves that we found it odd she would always cancel and never want to hang out outside of school, but we were like it's not that big of a deal. She could just be busy.
We then just ahead to my birthday. Now i have an early birthday and it falls around the time that we come back to school after the winter break. Now during the winter break, Clara, Sabrina and I formed a seperate gc as it would just be the three of us talking and making plans. We also always took so many pictures and felt bad about sending it into the gc with the four of us in it as we didnt want Emily to feel bad about not coming. So we figured it was better if we kept it seperate. But in the main gc, I just ask when is everyone free to do something small. I'm not really a birthday person. Since high school, all my birthdays include going to some cozy restauraunt with my 4 closest friends and just having a casual dinner. So I ask and everyone leaves their responses, including Emily. We decide on a day, it would be after school just a day or two after my actual birthday and we would be going to a restuarunt and an arcade nearby (I have strict parents so I really wasn't allowed to go out late or really go out anywhere far). The plan is made and everything is set. When the day comes for the dinnearcade, we all meet up by our lockers to go take the bus together.
The 3 of us are there waiting for Emily to come and she does just a few minutes late. That is when she tells us she can't come because she has a club meeting today, and she told us it was mandatory for us to attend. Now of course my friends and I tried to convince her to blow it off just this one time, but she was adamant about going. So, whatever. We say bye to her and start walking to the bus. While walking there we bump into a mutual friend, also waiting for the bus. She is also in the same club, so we confused why she was here. We do ask her, saying "hey isn't there something happening with the club today?" That is when she tells us there was just this small meeting recapping what had happened in last weeks meeting for the people who missed it. Meaning the meeting was not madatory at all, especially when Emily had cancelled our plans last week to go to this said meeting. Meaning she did sort of lie to get out of going to my birthday party. I of course was hurt by this. When she told us she had to go to the meeting, I didn't think much of it as I knew how much school mattered to her and how much doing this club stuff mattered. But she had the choice to come, and she decided to just blow me off. We went out and had fun and didn't bring the matter up with her. We figured it was just her caring a bit too much about school.
Anyways this whole cancelling plans last minute, ghosting the main gc thing happened more and more. It also got to the point where if I wanted to talk to her, whether that was through text or in real life I would always have to approach her first. As this carried on for a while, i of course was getting a bit annoyed about where this friendship was going.
We now get to Emily's birthday a month later. Now Emily decided to plan her birthday, very last minute. I am just pointing this out as i am not a person who can do spontaneous plans, one because i have this need to plan properly and two because I do have strict parents. So i can't just spring a plan on them the day of and expect to go. Which is something Emily knows. Anyways she makes the plan and i tell my mom about it to ask if i can go and she says yes. The day before, Emily then decides to change the plan entirely. We were going to go into downtown city (for context, it's roughly 2 hours transit from our neighborhood). I obviously had to ask permission as she wanted to stay out late which is not something my parents would like, so when Emily told us at lunch the change in plans, Clara, Sabrina I told her we had to double check if we can still go as we all have strict parents, but our extended friend group were all down to go.
After school, the four of us head into the bathroom, which is a toally normal thing for high school girls to do before we headed out. While there Emily then decides to start a fight with me about not going to her birthday, which hasn't happened yet. She starts yelling at me about how Im mad that she didn't go to my birthday and am not going to hers as revenge (I'll be honest, I kinda forgot she didn't go). And starts yelling at me about how I'm being a bad friend and frankly a b*tch. And when I say she is screaming at me, I mean there is the largest echo circling our bathroom as she yells at me. Now I'm just standing there, trying to reason with her. I'm just trying to explain to her that i didn't say i wasn't coming, i just needed to get permission to go, which is something that Clara and Sarbina said as well but Emily wasn't saying anything about them. She proceeded to just yell at me for a solid 5 minutes. Another girl did walk into the bathroom, saw Emily yelling and just left, which I feel bad about. I do not do well with someone yelling at me, so I just tell her that I'm leaving now and we can talk later. I practically run out of the bathroom and out of school. Clara runs up to me and says i can't go home feeling like this. I felt horrible, i felt like throwing up. So Clara makes it her job to cheer me up as Sabrina is trying to calm Emily down. Clara takes me to Mcdonalds, where we split a meal as that became a tradition of ours and she bought me ice-cream to make me feel better. We end up spending roughly and hour and half there before starting to walk back to our houses. I did feel a lot better and I was smiling. Clara didn't really say much about what happened as she knew it would upset me. She just said that Emily was being mean and left it at that. At some point during our walk, Emily calls Clara and starts screaming at Clara over the phone about choosing "my side". I only know it was Emily because I can hear her screaming through the phone and Clara is trying to be nice to her and say she was comforting her friend like a good one would do. Emily continues screaming and Clara just hangs up on her.
We don't talk about it. Now the next day, at school, is Emily's birthday. I feel so awkward. Because i'm still upset about what happened. When I see her, I'm not sure if I should wish her a happy birthday. I feel like I am owed an apology first. so i don't really say anything to her. and we don't really talk. Now we are in the same Chemistry honours class together and are lab partners. So we have to talk. I ask her, if we're going to talk about what happened. And she just says, no, it's my birthday. I just say really but she doesn't say anything after. So Im just like, fine, whatever. We spend the entire class in awkward silence, and I do not see her again the entire day. Even at lunch because she has a club meeting or something. Clara, Sabrina and I all agree that we don't want to talk about it. Clara got an apology text last night but she was still mad about being yelled at over the phone. Sabrina asked us if we wanted to know what her and Emily talked about yesterday but i said no. I was frankly too mad and knew if anything was said, I would be upset. Emily did not end up having a birthday party. and there is now an awkward silence between the 4 of us. it's like a horror movie, where the music is playing and you just know something bad is coming and you have to wait for it.
A few days later, I know i have to say something. I can feel that our friendship is hanging by a thread and I want my best friend back. So at lunch, while we're all sitting by our lockers I bring up the topic. I do not remember the conversation that took place. All I know was that Emily was practically screaming in my face, in front of all our friends (Clara, Sabrina and 5 of our other friends). Everyone is trying to get her to stop, but she keeps yelling at me. At some point I just start crying. Now this is the first time, that someone outside of my family, has ever made me cry. Its the first time I have ever cried at school too. The tears are flowing down my face as I just say "i'm sorry i cant do this" to the rest of our friends as i had off to the bathroom to calm down. Clara and one of our other friends rush off with me to try to calm me down and stop the tears. But they keep coming. I can't stop them and am now in the bathroom splashing my face with water and doing my best to wipe them all away. Clara, this other friend and i all have the same class next. So they have to literally drag me to class as I'm sort of paralyzed about whats happening. When we get to the classroom, everyone there, which was half of the class is looking at me and seeing my red, teared-up face. Our seats are at the very back corner of the classroom, on the very opposite side from the door. So i have to walk past the entire face as they all stare at me and wonder whats happening. the entire time im not really paying any attention. during little work periods in the class, my fellow classmates would walk up to me and ask if im okay. which i would say yes, i was even though i wasnt because what else could i say. I ended up powering through the rest of the day before going home and wonderign what to do.
In the secret gc, I text with Clara and Sabrina about what my next steps should be. They suggest we have an actual therapy session as a friend group to discuss if we even want to be friends at this point. I agree to this. I even start writing up my own speech I am going to tell Emily when i see her.
So I'm just going to jump ahead to whenever this happens. It's during lunch, outside on the grass field. I am calm, I know what to say and everything. I'm sitting there with Clara and Sabrina has to literally drag Emily out of school to come and talk. I kid you not. We have like an hour for lunch. It takes 20 minutes for Emily to finally show up. And she shows up like, "ugh what are we even doing here? im kinda busy" and just acts like there is nothing at all wrong. I start to calmly explain to her how ive been feeling the entire year. I do not remmeber the conversation. But what I remember talking about is how i feel like she's distant, she's always cancelling plans, im always the one texting her first, about how she gets mad at me for small little things, how she yells at me, etc. My whole speech was about how "i don't want to feel like sh*t for trying to continue this friendship". Because even after the first time she yelled at me, I just wanted an apology and we could move on and that didn't happen. And now Im just like I don't want to cry again and don't want my tears to come from someone who's supposed to be my best friend. She does argue her case in this. Her whole thing is how "i'm being clingy and annoying and controlling".
Now for her arguement, I think it should be known more about my persoanlity type. I am not the best people person. I have social anxiety and how that manifests in me is that i can't really talk to people that well. I don't know how to converse and get incredibly nervous to talk to anyone new. So when I do become friends with someone, I do latch on to them. I talk to them all the time, when i can, and they become my person. I think that is where the clingy party comes from. For the controlling/annoying thing, I can only chalk it up to me always texting her. Like i said, i would always have to be the one initating our conversations and plans. So our chats always look like 5 bubbles of text from me (because i am the person that types in multiple bubbles rather than one large text bubble) and her short responses. When it comes to plans, as I said i do not do spontaenous plans. I need to have them properly organized for both my parents sakes and my sake. I'm not someone who plans everything out minute by minute, I just need to know times and places. And if you are actually free.
Thankfully this time, Emily isn't yelling at me however she is talkimg a bit loudly. Now at this point we have spent 25ish minutes talking about this when she suddently gets up and says "i have to go otherwise i'll be late for my class and get in trouble". Which there is still 15 minutes before lunch ends. And her classroom is across the hallway from my next class with Clara. The walk from the grass field was literally 2 minutes. Our coversation wasn;t done. There was no convlusion and no real understanding on either part. So all of us get up as Emily starts speed walking and we all chase her. We're all telling her there is still so much time left, but she doesn't listen and still carries on. So then I say, "i don't want to be friends anymore if this is what it's going to be like". and she says "fine." and walks away. and that was the end of our friendship.
It was almost spring break and our friends were doing their best to navigate the situation. I think they believed we both needed time to cool down and we can all be friends again. However that didn;t happen. Emily and i agreed to be civil as we still had the same friend group but she never really hung out with us in the next couple days, or talked during lunch and that was it.
The two of us did not talk at all. The only times we did was in our Chemistry class, where she did the most un-civil thing ever. As I said we were lab partners. Anytime we had any lab, involing the microscope, I would always be the person doing the microscope work as Emily writes down the results of what I found. I would then get the numbers or obersations from her and add them to my worksheet as our teacher wanted us to work in partners but submit our own work. This one lab went off for too long and the bell rung. So as we are packing up quickly, I ask Emily for the numbers she wrote down. She said she's late for something and will send me the numbers later today. And I'm like fine. She never did. It was also a Friday so we went into the weekend and she never sent me anything. I did text her once on Saturday and another time on Sunday if she could send it. but she never replied and i just asked another classmate if they could send me their answers. If our teacher asked why did we as partners have different answers, I was going to tell him Emily wouldn't give them to me. He never did ask and that was the last time we really talked.
We then headed into spring break which ended up turning into the pandemic lockdown. Now I feel so bad when saying this, as i know this was a difficult time for so many people. But me as a 17-year-old high school studnet, loved the first few weeks of lockdown. I saw it as a mental health break as all the stuff that went down with Emily did in fact put me into a depression phase (I actually do have depression and i do end up in mini-phases where its really bad). The lockdown gave me time to breathe as it felt like i was holding my breath for so long and i could relax. Now in the fall, our school did a hybrid for our last year. Which was fine, it was weird but managable. Emily did not talk to me, Clara or Sabrina at all during our seniour year. We graduated and my friends and I had the best time we could under pandemic restrictions.
Current day, I (21) am now in university. Clara and Sabrina and I are as close as ever and have managed to keep our friendship alive and strong even 3-4 years outside of high school and while all attending different universities. We still hang out regularly (once every week or so) and text all the time. And would you believe it, Emily goes to my university. Remember, how I said she wanted to become a doctor. Yeah so her plan was to go to university in Toronto for some medicine thing. I don't really know. She didn't do that. Instead she stayed in our city and decided to do business instead. What am I doing, you ask? Also business. Now I know I can't claim a school, or a major or anything like that. But i can't lie, im a little annoyed that she decided to swtich her career path to the same as mine. Thankfully Ive only had one class with her and it was one of those big lecture halls so i didn't have to talk with her. Just seeing her tho reminds me of high school and i can feel my blood pressure rising and me sweating as all the nerves and stress come back.
Anyways Clara and Sabrina's birthdays are coming up. Their birthdays are within the same week so since high school, they've always just done one big combined party. The two of them are both really chill people, they are friends with everyone and anyone. So as their coming up with their birthday plans, they are thinking of their guest list and Emily is on it. Now, Clara and Sabrina did ask me beforehand if they could invite her. They do want to make sure I am comfortable. They both tell me that they don't really talk to her anymore, maybe once every 3 months or something. They also haven't hung out since high school. But for their 21st birthday they are thinking of inviting everyone from our high school friend group to have sort of a mini-reuinion. I am down for it, I do think i have moved on, in the sense that I know I do not want Emily in my life. I do tell them I will probably feel awkwad but I can manage for one night for their birthday.
As I'm telling my sister (F16) about Clara and Sabrina's party and who's coming, she asks me about Emily. She basically says if Clara and Sabrina are fine with inviting her, that means they have forgiven her for high school stuff, so am I not being a bit mean for holding on to my feelings? I am a person who believes there is no expirational date on any pain caused by a person. I should not have to "forgive and forget" a person, who has not asked for it and who caused me so much pain just because that is how the world has worked. But it go me thinking, am i being a bit rude?
So, two questions: AITA for what happened in high-school? (am i in the wrong for the friendship breakup) and AITA for not wanting to forgive her?
A FEW NOTES: (i'll add more when i think of it)
I have not spoken to Emily since grade 12. Not in person, not through people, not through text. We have had no contact with one another and i am fine with that. I do not want any relationship with her.
Clara and Sabrina are two of the sweetest people in my life. It does not hurt me at all they have the odd interaction with Emily at all. Afterall they do say its very minimal contact and the few times they have made plans with Emily included, they let me know well in advance, ask if its okay to invite her and all that. Each time I say its fine because I know Im in a good place to not feel bad.
I have never yelled at Emily. Nor have I ever spoken badly about her. With our mutual friends I might complain about the situation, but I never say anything bad about her. I should also say, Emily i don't think was well-liked. As I said the two of are good students, the smart kids, whatever else you want to say. However Emily is what would be described as a "teacher's pet" and does give off an arrogant vibe at times towards others. Some of my other friends/classmates would sometimes make comments about this to me, but i would always sort of downplay it. Like, oh that's not how she really is, she just cares a lot about school. A few times I would say the comments are harsh to some of the classmates. Her, on the other hand, has called me a controlling b*tch to several people. who have all told me about it. She did bad-mouth to quite a few people.
At some point in grade 11 (not really relevant to the main story, but might be part of the reason Emily's always made at me), but I was blamed for a rumour going around that Emily had a crush on this guy in our grade. Emily and I had to go to this one teacher's class for some notes or something. And in the class was this girl who I didn;t really like. So before we walk in I whisper to her, no one can hear, that "hey there's that girl i don't like". Emily then makes it so obvious that she is looking at this girl. And next to her is one of the popular boys in our class. Emily makes it so obvious that shes looking in his direction and does it a few times, that the rumour she likes this guy becomes a huge joke in our grade. She does not like this guy, never has liked this guy, but it is a joke that him and his friends carry on. This continues for the entire year, and Emily in our therapy session does mention this fact. She says its my fault that this joke has gone around. I don't see how.

I've recently completed my third year of computer engineering at UofT, and I wanted to share my thoughts on the courses I've taken. I hope this will be beneficial to incoming first, second, and third-year engineering students. My area of depth is 6 (Software) and my areas of breadth are 4 (Control) and 5 (Computer hardware/networks).
Difficulty: How hard it was to comprehend course material and/or complete practice problems accurately. Keep in mind that difficulty is subjective but I tried to eliminate personal bias and be as objective as possible.
Workload: The amount of work to complete outside of lectures (labs, assignments, homework, studying for tests/exams).
All engineers take the exact same courses in their first year first semester and similar ones in second semester. I took these courses in 2021 during covid so some information might be outdated.
First Year Semester 1:
APS100 Orientation to Engineering:
Difficulty: 1/10 Workload: 3/10 Course Average: N/A
There is no technical material in this course. All coursework consists of Ethics analysis, creating a schedule for time management, creating your resume, and discussion board participation. During tutorials, the TA typically asks behavioral questions to the class and covers slides pertaining to engineering principles, the learning environment, test readiness, and related topics.
APS110 Engineering Chemistry and Materials Science
Difficulty: 6/10 Workload: 5/10 Course Average: B
This course blends elements of chemistry, physics, and mathematics, requiring lots of formulas and memorization. The assignments and online quizzes were moderately difficult. Not sure if he’s still teaching but Scott Ramsay was a really good professor. Really enjoyed watching his video demonstrations.
APS111 Engineering Strategies and Practices I
Difficulty: 3/10 Workload: 6/10 (Variable) Course Average: B
Students are organized into groups of 5-6 and are assigned the task of developing a solution for a client, following the engineering design process. Success in this course heavily relies on your team. Throughout the semester, there are several milestones where you need to submit large reports with your team, making it crucial to have capable teammates. Many teams resorted to last-minute cramming the night before each milestone (not a good idea). Additionally, there are two peer reviews, so make sure you contribute to avoid being perceived as an unproductive member. In most cases, you don’t need to worry about this though. You’d likely all be good friends by that point (and give each other a perfect review).
CIV100 Mechanics
Difficulty: 9/10 Workload: 9/10 Course Average: C+
The consensus among most students in my year was that this was the toughest first year course. It's incredibly calculation heavy, with questions that may appear straightforward in theory but require multiple steps to solve. Even a minor error can screw up your entire calculation process. The assignments are extremely time-consuming, and the quizzes pose significant challenges. I suggest you work in a group for the assignments. Furthermore, both the final exam and midterm were exceptionally difficult.
MAT186 Calculus I
Difficulty: 4/10 Workload: 4/10 Course Average: B
If you’ve taken IB or AP this course will be a breeze. Even without that background, it's still relatively straightforward. Very little on integrals, mostly derivatives, rates of change, and graphs. PCEs and WebWorks were trivial, and the midterm and exam were easy.
MAT188 Linear Algebra
Difficulty: 7/10 Workload: 7/10 Course Average: B-
The majority of the course revolves around relatively straightforward operations on matrices and vectors. However, it does introduce abstract concepts like higher-order dimensions, which may require some deeper thinking to fully grasp. Webwork assignments were slightly more challenging compared to MAT186's, and completing assignments took a while. Once again, you should work with a partner or as a group. Pay attention in the MATLAB practicals because you’ll be using MATLAB pretty often in future courses.
First Year Semester 2:
APS105 Computer Fundamentals
Difficulty: 6/10 Workload: 5/10 Course Average: B-
If you’ve taken programming in high school, you will likely find this course very easy (2/10 difficulty). The course covers simple programming syntax, along with basic sorting algorithms, without delving into more advanced concepts beyond linked lists and binary trees. I do know many people who struggled though. I think that this was one of the more enjoyable courses of first year. Edit: perhaps not as easy as I described. Make sure to get programming experience in the summer before first year if you don’t already have it.
APS112 Engineering Strategies and Practices II
Difficulty: 5/10 Workload: 7/10 (Variable) Course Average: B+
This course is essentially a continuation of APS111, but with the added component of being assigned an actual client with a real-world problem statement. Each group works with a unique client, and at the end of the term, you present your final report directly to them, along with your supervisors. As with APS111, the quality of your team plays a crucial role in your success. Another thing to note is that unlike APS111, there were multiple individual assignments to complete on top of your team reports.
ECE110 Electrical Fundamentals
Difficulty: 8/10 Workload: 6/10 Course Average: C+
Definitely one of the harder first year courses. This course marks your introduction to circuits. Topics covered include capacitors, Ampere's law, Ohm's law, Kirchhoff's laws, AC/DC circuits, magnetism, Thevenin and Norton equivalents, and more. The material is extensive and requires thorough understanding, as many future courses will build upon its concepts. Make sure that you understand the content well, given its foundational importance in subsequent courses.
ECE191 Introduction to Electrical and Computer Engineering
Difficulty: 0/10 Workload: 1/10 Course Average: N/A
Seminar course. You just need to show up to the lectures (one per week) and submit a 100-ish word report about what you learned.
MAT187 Calculus II
Difficulty: 6/10 Workload: 5/10 Course Average: C+
The workload in this course is comparable to Calc I, but the content is more challenging (obviously). It delves deeper into integrals and introduces concepts like ordinary differential equations and polar coordinates. But again, you’ll manage just fine if you did decently in Calc 1, and especially if you’ve taken AP math or IB HL math.
MIE100 Dynamics
Difficulty: 8/10 Workload 4/10 Course Average: C+
I personally found this to be the most challenging course in first year, but it seems that most people disagree with me. It shares similarities with CIV100, but you’re instead dealing with dynamic systems (moving) rather than static ones (not moving). Some concepts may prove difficult to grasp initially. However, if you focus on memorizing the relevant formulas and understanding when to apply them, you should be okay. Expect an emphasis on physics in this course.
Second year was the worst (for ECE) and a very big step up from first year. If you struggled in first year, you better lock in for second year.
Second Year Semester 1:
ECE201 ECE Seminar Course
Difficulty: 0/10 Workload: 0/10 Course Average: N/A
Another seminar course, except you just need to attend 7/10 lectures to pass. Most students just scan their Tcard at the entrance then leave right after. The lectures are pretty useless except the Magellan one where they show you how to choose courses for 3rd and 4th year.
ECE212 Circuit Analysis
Difficulty: 7/10 Workload: 8/10 Course Average: B+
This course provides a deeper exploration of circuits, extending beyond circuit solving to include frequency and sinusoidal analysis. Questions tend to be long so careless errors will cost you. Personally, I found the labs challenging, particularly because they required working with oscilloscopes at a higher level than I was used to, and I could not for the life of me figure out how to use that thing.
ECE241 Digital Systems
Difficulty: 7/10 Workload: 8/10 Course Average: B-
This hardware course focuses on the foundation of hardware. A lot of the content is at the fundamental level so it’s not too hard to comprehend. However, the main challenge lies in learning Verilog, a hardware description language. I hate Verilog. All the labs are done using Verilog, and frustratingly, the course provides no instruction on the language, nor are there many helpful resources available online. This lack of guidance made what should have been straightforward labs much more difficult. Thankfully if you are in CE, you’ll never need to take another course with Verilog again. The midterm was easy but the final was borderline impossible.
ECE244 Programming Fundamentals
Difficulty: 7/10 Workload: 7/10 Course Average: B-
This course is the sequel to APS105, delving into more advanced concepts like pointers, constructors, polymorphism, and inheritance. Many of these topics may feel familiar if you have prior programming experience, particularly from high school. Consequently, if you're already proficient in programming, as many computer engineering students are, you should be able to navigate through this course well. The labs were generally manageable, although a couple of them were time-consuming.
MAT290 Advanced Engineering Mathematics
Difficulty: 7/10 Workload 8/10 Course Average: B
In this course, you’ll learn a lot of miscellaneous mathematical concepts that will be relevant in future courses. The goal is to establish a strong foundation to facilitate understanding in third and fourth-year courses. There is also a quiz every week. They were terrible from a time management standpoint, but as long as you spent 3-4 hours per week completing the assigned textbook questions, you should be alright since one (out of two) of the questions on the quiz is guaranteed to be an assigned textbook question (at least, that was the case when I took the course).
MAT291 Calculus III
Difficulty: 9/10 Workload 9/10 Course Average: B-
The entire workload comes from studying for those damn weekly quizzes, much like MAT290. Personally, I found it to be one of the most difficult courses I've ever taken. Think of calculus 2, but now everything is in three dimensions, encompassing concepts like surface integrals, flux integrals, and more. Additionally, the course introduces abstract topics that I still struggle to grasp. Balancing the demands of this course alongside everything else was an incredibly stressful experience.
Second Year Semester 2:
ECE216 Signals and Systems
Difficulty: 8/10 Workload:7/10 Course Average: C+
I think everyone hated this course. It was so poorly taught and the midterms felt haphazard and unpredictable. I relied on the power of BS to pass (worked surprisingly). Other than working with many graphs and MATLAB, I don’t remember much about this course because it was so uninteresting.
ECE221 Electric and Magnetic Fields
Difficulty: 8/10 Workload: 5/10 Course Average: C+
This course serves as an introduction to fields, while also expanding on the principles covered in ECE110. Many concepts build upon intuitive ideas, such as the repulsion of identical charges and attraction of opposite charges, which can make seemingly complex topics less intimidating. There are also many procedures that you need to know to solve specific types of questions. The labs are generally straightforward. You just need to follow the steps on the lab worksheet and answer a few simple questions from the TA.
ECE231 Intro to Electronics
Difficulty: 9/10 Workload: 7/10 Course Average: C+
This course is basically circuit analysis but significantly harder. It combines everything you've learned about circuits thus far, introducing new topics on top of that foundation. There are so many new concepts to learn and the final pretty much tests you on all of them. I’ve encountered multiple scenarios where I saw two concepts that I thought were completely separate from each other being integrated into a single question on an exam. Also very calculation heavy. Despite my experience in this course, I must admit Khoman Fang was a great professor.
ECE243 Computer Organization
Difficulty: 7/10 Workload: 6/10 Course Average: B
This course is a direct continuation of ECE241, and surprisingly, I found it a lot more enjoyable than its prerequisite. The focus is on Assembly language programming, which I found to be way more understandable compared to Verilog. Assembly operates at a fundamental level, so you’re technically working with the most basic building blocks in programming. The labs often involved seemingly simple tasks like counting to 10 on a HEX display, but the nature of Assembly meant that achieving this could require hundreds of lines of code. I appreciated these labs as they provided a refreshing change from the usual programming tasks. Final and midterm exams were relatively easy.
ECE297 Software communication and design
Difficulty: 8/10 Workload: 9/10 (Variable) Course Average: B+
Despite the demanding workload, this course was one of my favorites. The main project involved collaborating in teams of three to develop a geographical information system (similar to Google Maps). Unlike other courses where teams are assigned, here you have the freedom to choose your own teammates. Starting off, your team is given only the OpenStreetMap database, and the APIs, granting you complete control over your project's design, functionality, and optimization. Performance enhancement and pathfinding algorithms were key components of the project. It's crucial for all team members to contribute effectively for success in this course; And trust me, this is not a one or two person project. To succeed in this course, all three members must be doing their share.
Third Year:
They say that third year is the easiest year for ECE, but that depends on what courses you choose. For me, it was only slightly easier than second year but still significantly harder than first year.
APS360 Fundamentals of Deep Learning
Difficulty: 8/10 Workload : 8/10 Course Average: B+
This course felt fundamentally very different compared to the other programming related courses. If you’re unfamiliar with deep learning, the content can be overwhelming but the inner workings behind AI are both fascinating and challenging to grasp. Fortunately, much of the coding in the course revolves around preparing data, setting up AI architectures, and training/testing models, rather than building an AI from scratch. While the labs are manageable, the final project can be very time consuming, particularly as training a single model can require hours or even days. Regarding this aspect, make sure you start early. Both the midterm and final exams were quite difficult.
ECE302 Probability and Applications
Difficulty: 7/10 Workload: 3/10 Course Average: B-
The first half of this course is very straightforward. Just an introduction to probability. The second half is where the difficulty quickly ramps up. Make sure you don’t underestimate the second half of the course. I made the mistake of assuming the material was easy after performing well on both midterms (midterms were very easy), leading me to neglect the final third of the course so I flunked the final. FYI, our marks were determined solely by the 2 midterms and the final.
ECE344 Operating Systems
Difficulty: 8/10 Workload: 10/10 Course Average: B
This course had the most difficult and demanding labs I’ve ever seen in my life. They are due every two weeks and some of them took most students more than 15 hours to complete. I’ve seen people staying up all night in the GB computer rooms to finish these labs. One positive aspect of the course if Jon Eyolfson is your professor, is that all lectures are both recorded and live-streamed, allowing attendance in person, online synchronously, or asynchronously. But if you have Ding Yuan, good luck. I heard he is not only bad at teaching, but also makes you program an operating system from scratch. The course content is quite interesting and the Midterm and final exams were fair.
ECE345 Algorithms and Data Structures
Difficulty: 8/10 Workload: 7/10 Course Average: B+
If you're one of those programming geniuses who have been doing Leetcode since like 3 years old, you’d have likely already learned all course content before you’ve even started the course. You could probably write midterm and final exams without attending any lectures. However, if you're not as experienced, attending every lecture, taking detailed notes, and staying focused is crucial. Personally speaking, some algorithms were incredibly difficult for me to grasp, while others were simple. Assignments typically include both coding and long-answer components, which can be time-consuming, but you can work with a partner.
TEP444 Positive Psychology for Engineers
Difficulty: 1/10 Workload: 3/10 Course Average: A-
This course overall was very enjoyable and a nice refreshing experience from the other technical courses. You go on excursions to various locations with your group and write reports. It's an excellent opportunity to expand your social circle and make new friends. If you aim for an A- grade (80-85), you can breeze through with minimal effort. However, achieving a higher grade (A or A+) would require significantly more work (like 5 times more, no joke), which is not worth the extra effort in my opinion.
CSC343 Introduction to Databases
Difficulty: 7/10 Workload: 10/10 Course Average: Unreleased
The content of this course is actually pretty interesting and is taught well. But the assignments were excessively time consuming. There are only three in total, but each one demanded such a significant investment of time to the point where I contemplated dropping the course altogether. You do work with a partner (going solo isn’t even an option if you want to complete the assignments) but even so, be prepared to invest 15-30 hours per person, per assignment (they also mark hard). Despite the workload, I do recommend taking this course because knowing SQL can substantially benefit you in the future. Just start the assignments early. On a positive note, the midterm and final were relatively straightforward.
ECE311 Introduction to Control Systems
Difficulty: 10/10 Workload: 5/10 Course Average: C+
This course didn't come with a heavy workload, consisting only of three labs and two midterms. However, I found the content to be very challenging. It felt like they condensed and combined every concept from every engineering math and physics course into one. Topics ranged from circuits and dynamics to Laplace transforms, matrices, Bode plots, and more. It didn’t help that Prof Scardovi didn’t record any lectures, has messy handwriting, and uses a damn chalkboard instead of modern technology like other profs do. The midterms and final were somewhat lenient compared to the lectures, but this course still ended up being my lowest mark.
ECE361 Computer networks I
Difficulty: 8/10 Workload: 9/10 Course Average: B
This course requires a lot of memorization compared to other courses. You’ll have to understand calculation processes but also memorize a lot of general knowledge about networks. A problem with this course is that some concepts that show up in tests are not adequately explained in lectures. By far the best way to study is to do past exams. Professor Valaee often recycles questions, sometimes even directly copying past midterms and finals (like he did in my cohort). Unlike other courses, there is no big assignment/lab for this course, but it makes up for it with quantity. There’s a quiz every week, a wireshark lab every 2 weeks, a programming lab every 2 weeks, and a midterm. The programming labs are already difficult by themselves, but this cumulative workload felt very overwhelming.
ECE472 Engineering Economics and Entrepreneurship
Difficulty: 7/10 Workload: 5/10 Course Average: B+
This is straight up an economics course, no engineering at all. You’ll learn about investments, equity, financing, and related areas. There are 4 quizzes throughout the semester, with quiz 3 (quiz 3 specifically) being by far the hardest (average in the 50s). Since you're able to bring your textbook to the quizzes and exam, my biggest tip is to write past quiz and exam solutions in your textbook, as there's a limited pool of questions, and new questions often resemble some kind of variation of past ones.
ECE421 Introduction to Machine Learning
Difficulty: 9/10 Workload: 7/10 Course Average: unreleased
While the course content itself may be challenging, surprisingly, the midterm and final exams were pretty easy. There's a slight discorrelation between the lecture material and what appears on the exams, but relying on past exams for preparation should be enough. The course leans heavily on mathematical concepts, much more so than APS360. The assignments were difficult and tedious but I recommend you work with others to complete it.
With that, I've covered my thoughts and tips for all the engineering courses I've completed. Transitioning into your next year in engineering, particularly if you’re transitioning from high school, can feel daunting. However, remember that you're not alone in this experience – many of your peers are facing similar challenges. If you need any more advice or have questions, feel free to reach out to me via DMs!

My DD is in kindergarten, since the beginning of this school year, my daughter and this girl in her class clicked and always seem to get along, holding hands together after school at pick up, my daughter always speaks positively about her and I also volunteer in the classroom occasionally and I never saw any issues between how they interact. My daughter also has several friends in her class from preschool/baby years she gets along with. One time, I volunteered, the girl had come up to me asked me if my daughter and her could have a play date, so I said of course, so I approached her daughter’s mom during pick up one day, about possibly setting up a play date and she quickly replied and said when the weather is warmer. I didn’t think anything of it at the time. Then I started noticing whenever my daughter is hugging goodbye to her friend, her mom seemed really uncomfortable would gesture her daughter to stop hugging and quickly walk away. My husband even noticed one time at pick up the mom was not so friendly to him when he tried to greet.
Later my daughter mentioned her friend’s mom volunteered in class and she was not being nice to her, that she kept talking to my daughter in firm voice, kind of made her sad. I said ok, well maybe she was trying to be professional.
Recently I received an email from the mother out of the blue (this is one of the first contact we’ve made) saying there was an incident during recess where my daughter was crying for her best friend when her friend was playing with other girls and she feels my daughter only likes to play with her and not include everyone else. In the email she asked if I could have a conversation with my daughter about making new friends. I was a little confused because the same day my daughter didn’t mention anything about the incident and said she was crying that day because she was upset about not being able to finish worksheet in class. I responded saying sorry about the incident and I’ll talk to her and the teacher.
I emailed the teacher asking about the incident to better understand the issue. The teacher responded short message saying they like to play together and that seems to be going okay. Her teacher and assistant teacher will monitor situation next few days and let me know if we need to action further. To me, the teacher didn’t really seem concerned of their behaviors, and when I ask my daughter about how she feels at recess and her friends, she doesn’t say she’s jealous or feeling sad and says she’s pretty happy playing. Of course at this age, I know a lot happens during the day and as they spend many hours together during the week at school so some days can be worse than others. I try to take my daughter’s words with a grain of salt. That said, I think my daughter is well socialized, she is involved in sports and other activities outside of school where she has social circle, she also has older sibling and she knows how to stand up for herself if needed.
Now I’m kind of feeling annoyed maybe the parent is just trying to manipulate the situation because she simply doesn’t like my daughter playing with hers for some reason. I’m disappointed for my daughter because this girl is her first best friend. I talked to her about making new friendships but my daughter just seems confused because she says she does play with other friends and even other friends from another class. How can I get my daughter to steer away from friend at this age? I don’t want any more trouble over nothing.

I'm a teenager, and my mom signed me in Islamic studies a couple months ago, which I didn't have much of a problem with until I actually was in the classes.
For 4 hours, every Saturday and Sunday, for the next 6 weeks, I sit in a circle in a section of the Masjid, and hear the teacher talking, who has such a monotone voice. Him and his assistant don't tolerate being unprepared, drawing, sleeping, or not paying attention. It's weird, since I thought it was going to be in a classroom, with worksheets, like what I'm used to. I'm not one for lectures, so this is a pain in the ass.
On top of all this, I already have a lot of testing and schoolwork in regular school, which... is amazing. I was pretty aggravated about having school 7 days a week.
I also couldn't help but think about how cult-like everyone sounded; the children collectively reading the Arabic alphabet, and reciting the surahs. I wondered if there was anyone like me, who was doubting their faith, exploring their identity, and realizing that Islam may not be for them anymore (bonus if they're gay lol). I couldn't help but feel uneasy and uncomfortable, knowing my mom spent money for this, thinking it was "best for me." I don't want her to think I'm ungrateful, so I pretend I like the classes and what I'm studying, so she can feel happier.
It's burning me the fuck out, stressing me the fuck out, and I feel trapped. I'm really considering skipping in some way because I don't resonate with Islam anymore, and I don't think I ever did.
TLDR: On the weekends, I go to Islamic study class and it's tiring, as I don't identify with Islam anymore, and the class is simply boring. I also already have a bunch of stuff to do in regular school.

dude i dont fucking care if it makes it easier to separate them. i genuinely just dont give a fuck why would they do that? ill admit, at first it was bearable. they would just tap their tongues to their fingers and put it on the paper. i would just circle the spot and make sure i didnt touch it. but then, things turned sour. teachers graduated from putting the paper up to their mouth, to licking their tongue up and down the paper. i lost it halfway through the year when a teacher licked the paper entirely for more than a whole minute before giving it to me. she rolled her tongue all over the paper having the time of her life. by the time i received it it was a sopping wet dripping mess. i refused to touch it and failed the assignment, and by the end of class slobber from the worksheet was dribbling down the table leg. this became a regular occurrence and i started wearing a gas mask and full ppe to school. the teachers also spit everywhere and smear it around and around, and you cant escape it. recently students have been sitting in globs of spit from teachers hurling their fluids into the chairs. many of them seem affected by this, and they hunch over the desks, sticking out their tongue as far as possible and running it up and down. a conglomeration of students and teachers were spitting on the walls outside of school and rubbing it around with sponges. i really cant take it anymore and im just waiting for summer break to roll around. hopefully they will outgrow this behavior, but ive lost my faith in the human race at this point.

Hello, I am a class of 2022 graduate. I graduated with a 3.8 gpa, #68/366. I spent 8 years in Connections Academy before finishing my high school career in public school. I write this post as a warning to parents and other peers wanting to homeschool or online school, the consequences of isolated learning have been incredibly punishing. I grew up in a small town of around 8000 people, about 16 miles from town. Living in a rural area in the mid 2010's, my family struggled with the financial burden of having 3 kids and homeschooling seemed like a better option than driving to 2 different schools every day (the bus didn't run out there).
I barely remember my childhood. There was a moment after 3rd grade where the Connections' curriculum made me go numb. Monotony took over my life, every day I woke up, ate breakfast, and then sat in my room until lunch and dinner, doing work or playing video games. I did this almost every day for 8 years. The consequences of unrestricted internet access and complete social isolation have shaped me into who I am today, it is a miracle that I am still alive. I have diagnosed depression and anxiety, I have no social circle, and I resent my parents for making me do homeschooling. I am so deeply insecure that it even appears in my close relationships, and I struggle to maintain relationships with people I haven't known my entire life. Because I was homeschooled, I never did any real extra curriculars, my parents had no time to move me back and forth between clubs or sports. I got no meaningful scholarships, and cannot afford to go to college. I have never been to a real party, and I do not have the commonly shared experiences that most teenagers have. I have ADHD, its "lucky" my mom would punish me physically when I got bad grades or I would have failed school. I cheated on every test, every worksheet I skipped or glossed over. Why should I do the work when I can just cheat and get it done quickly and go play video games? Connections Academy was a tough school. The curriculum is incredibly repetitive, and it is so laughably easy to cheat on every single test. The mandatory live lesson meetings were always a boring mess, the logistics of keeping 30 kids focused and responding to questions makes for messy unfocused lessons. I did not learn much in class, thankfully I learn quickly or else I would have struggled more in high school. Attendance was tough and often class schedules would pile on quizzes and tests in the same time frame. The ability to do as much work as you wanted meant I would complete 10-20 lessons a day sometimes (via cheating). I actually ended up having to take extra classes because I didn't have any classes left almost 3 months before the end of school.
There was a moment in middle school when I wanted to branch out more, so my mom brought me to a homeschooling get together. The group was hard Christian, and unfortunately was just a bible study group. These kids didn't even know how to play checkers properly, and the reading circle was almost illiterate. I remember never talking to them again, there was such a staggering difference between me and them that it only further pushed me inside myself. It was the only local friend group I could have gotten into. I was groomed by another student shortly after this experience (she was 17 I was 13), but because I was so desperately alone I thought it was normal. She exploited my vulnerability, made me do things and nearly caused me to kill myself. The school did nothing when informed of course. Had I grown up in public school, I assume much of this would have never happened. I was a small child alone in a new emerging era of the internet, forced to navigate it out of necessity. Extreme social Isolation will not fix your child, you will not mold them to your liking. They will grow to resent you when they escape their bubble and explore the world beyond its scope. Do not force your child away from their peers, do not force your child to endure the numbness I felt every day.
I am aware my parents weren't the best, and the circumstances I grew up in weren't the best, but I consider my parents to be at least the average for southern hard conservatives, so my experiences certainly aren't unique.

I want to start by saying I do believe in the importance of mental health. I do believe there are times when people's mental health reaches a level of instability where even the most caring and compassionate of friends will struggle to support them. While it would be ideal for community and friendships to do some of the heavy lifting when it comes to supporting someone through a rough time, I recognize there are limits. When someone is chronically suicidal, flooded by memories that need a more complex intervention than just, "Find a safe person to talk to about them," tormented by terrible hallucinations, etc., it can easily go beyond what even the most compassionate loved ones can support on their own.
Having studied this material at the master's level, I do recognize the differences between being a caring friend who listens and being a competent clinician who can do more than "just listen and offer advice." On the flip side, having been abused and let down by 14+ therapists, I also recognize the canyon of difference between the ideal image of therapy as a clinical intervention that eases the burden/feapain/stress on both the client and the support system, and the reality many people experience.
The unique burden of having a mental health background and a history of trauma from therapy abuse is (1) having a pretty strong sense of what people I care about might need while (2) having zero confidence they'll actually get that if I suggest they seek therapy.
The best therapists have significant training beyond what they learned in school. Unless their employer paid for those trainings, they likely paid out of pocket for those trainings and spent hours (if not days) away from their jobs (and sometimes their families, in the case of lengthy conferences) to learn more skills. To balance out that cost, they tend to charge higher rates. If they don't charge higher rates themselves, their agency does. Meanwhile, the people most in need of the highly competent, knowledgeable, skilled professionals tend to be limited to Medicaid providers (who often do not even get paid enough to afford the extra trainings).
I'll see someone in my life struggling and think, "Okay. This person likely needs serious nervous system regulation. A sensory diet developed with an occupational therapist who works with adults (truly a unicorn if you can find one) would be a good first step. This could be built into a stabilization phase, where they receive support with budgeting, financial planning, identifying wants versus needs (and prioritizing needs on Maslow's hierarchy), support with applying for SSI/SSDI/jobs (depending on where they're at in terms of ability to work), support with finding stable housing, etc. They then need psychoeducation and support to recognize the toxicity of their current familial/romantic/workplace relationships as well as stronger coping skills to navigate those relationships + strategies to leave if the situation is too abusive/toxic for coping skills. From there, they'll need a specific intervention targeting any self-harm or suicidal ideation. They'll need a trauma-informed safety plan from a therapist who doesn't immediately call the cops at the first sign of trouble."
That's already a lot.
"THEN, after all THAT, they'll likely need some very gradual somatic exercises to bring them from point A (of a hyperreactive nervous system or the opposite under responsive feels-nothing state) to point B (a healthy, fluid transition between emotional states + the ability to ground and self-regulate back to baseline). This could accompany some biofeedback/EMDsomatic therapy, but the provider would need to be trauma-informed enough to recognize why people with severe C-PTSD often do not do well with breathing exercises and mindfulness. The person may be easily frustrated and down on themselves for how difficult all this can be, so perhaps throw in some VERY skillfully applied DBT training (which ideally should come from a therapist who recognizes how CBT and DBT can be construed as gaslighting when someone's external threat level is high enough that it's not "all in their head"). They also need an EXCELLENT doctor who is trauma-informed and recognizes that scary medical stuff can put a severely traumatized person in a childlike state of terror that is embarrassing and stressful to navigate."
I can see so many things that would help most people I talk to, but then...they go to whatever therapist Medicaid (or their less-than-ideal insurance policy) will cover and get a worksheet where they're told to circle the face that represents the emotion they're feeling. This takes the entire session, and they can't afford to come more than once a week. They see another therapist who is able to validate some aspects of their trauma but is at a total loss about others. They see another therapist who is cocky and condescending. They see another therapist who seems promising but stops taking their insurance. These examples are from a blend of countless people I've seen go through this process.
The end result is that all the "fighting stigma" and "encouraging (read: pushing) help-seeking" in the world does not actually create a system where there's real help for the people who need it the most.
It's so frustrating because I GET why people are sometimes so quick to say, "Go to therapy!" We want to believe that when our loved ones need more than just "someone compassionate who will listen," there are professionals who went to school to do more than "just listen." Yet so often, people who go to therapy don't even get the basic bare minimum "someone who listens" effect.
The end result is that I feel sad and tired watching the same people struggle year after year, but when I ask anyone, "What can I do to better support this person?" I hear, "Ya know, you should really tell that person to get therapy." I feel sad and tired hitting the same brick walls in my own DIY treatment and hearing, "Ya know, there's therapy for that!" It's not as simple as "go to therapy," but it's also not as simple as "if only we had better communities and friendships, no one would need therapy."
It's awful.

I am an intelligent person, I've been doing our family taxes for years, but for the life of me I am just going in circles trying to understand how to claim income made in the US on my Canadian income tax. I've used Studio Tax for years, so that's where I am.
I've entered the income on Line 10400, under Total Income. I've got Form T2209, and there it says not to report income already on T4. So, ok - don't add it there? Or I do? The foreign income was taxed at 30%, but in the Non-business foreign tax credits worksheet it says amount should be limited ot 15% of foreign income...so do I report the other half of taxes paid in the US somewhere or does that just get ignored? Apologies if this is incoherent. Its late and I feel like I'm about to cry.

Entry 1: Hello orb-school friends! I am a grade of C, which obviously means Coolio! That also makes it the 2nd highest grade, other than A for awesome! I also got a non-evil burger with fries for lunch. It tastes like 1 penny meat and 5 cent potatoes. Heck, I even saw some of the fries with green spots!
Entry 2: I got bullied by the rude one, named Eric Jimbleton (AKA Stack). He gave me 7 wedgies in a row! That was very sad, and it also stings A LOT! Yeowch!
Entry 3: The bully (mentally) died. I did not kill them, but he actually had Tier-6 IQ cancer. It makes you mentally dumb, and it also makes you speak in a weird dialect called orbgrish. (like orbglish but off). He is currently braindead, but he can still use the rest of his body. He now does "web design", but the sites look like this and he has 100 clients...welp. Hoping for the best.
Entry 4: My history teacher decided to play the toastedcherries orb video as a part of our history lecture!!! Hooray!!!! Ther was something weird though in my worksheet. I got a question...it said "Hello. I am stack's grandpa. I have decided to possess this worksheet so you will get an F. Do you agree?". The options were "yes or yes". I decided to circle "or". That caused me to get an A+ on the test while everyone else managed to get an F on it. I feel like a pro!
Entry 5: I was eating non-evil pepperoni pizza, but then...SOMEONE WAS ABOUT TO ORBNAP Terry from Redland! Thankfully, a guard saved Terry, but I remember that so much to the point of where I put a little device in my hand that makes it so I can't get orbnapped. (it costs 500 dollars).
Entry 6: My school decided to send someone to speak about how drugs are very uncoolio. It was...Gumby? Ok, it was more like some dude in a gumby costume. His voice was also deep, but he explained it because of him being a drug addict and smoking 15 cigarettes per day. That made me very sad...AND THEN THE SCHOOL PLAYED THE AFRO CIRCUS SONG FROM MADAGASCAR 3, WHILE THE HRs WORE RAINBOW AFROS. That felt very disrespectful to the gumby costume dude.
Entry 7: I decided to meet the dude in the Gumby costume. His name was Cire TimbleJon. He says that he remembers when he met me, 4 days ago. He says that liking gumby 24/7 helps him get over the addiction. He also likes Mr. Bill, but he doesn't have any Mr. Bill costumes. I said, "You're Eric Jimbleton, duh!". The gumby dude then ran away screaming "NANANANANA I CAN'T HEAR YOU!".
Entry 8: I decided to check Eric's main portfolio site again, and the homepage only showed a line of text saying, "You have been IP blocked from [REDACTED] for 5 days].". I decided to do the Konami code like if this was a outdated pop culture reference, and I managed to get back into the site. What I saw may shock you for the rest of your days! (which will be a lot BTW).
Entry 9: It said "Hello. I am Eric. I decided to do something very funny and troll a school. The first thing I did was buy a gumby costume off of Alibaba. The 2nd thing I did was buy a voice deepener. I put them together, and I made my costume. I told the school that I had IQ cancer before this (which was a lie) before, so I was sure that I could lie again. They believed me, n=and then I showed up at the assembly. Everyone was crying when I was talking about my "cancer". To this day, I feel proud about how I made the other students feel :D".
Entry 10 (the final one!): After seeing this post, I decided to send it to the orberville police department for online craziness. They instantly arrested Eric and gave him 10 years in prison for fraud. The police also arrested some of the HRs for giving students seemingly impossible work (like my history teacher). The moral of today's story: Orb Games are for everyone!

I've been a civil engineer for just about 2 years now. Since my first week at my company, I've been using TR-55. For a while it was through an Excel spreadsheet in combination with Hydrology Studio. For that whole time, we counted the first 300' of the flow path to be sheet flow and then the remaining distance shallow concentrated flow. TR-55 page 3-3 specifically states "After a maximum of 300 feet, sheet flow usually becomes shallow concentrated flow." That line was sufficient for my manger to justify our process. The 300' max length idea was then reinforced some months back when we switched to Hydraflow Hydrographs. In the Tc worksheet, in the input section for sheet flow, the line reads "Flow length (ft, 300 max)." So we've had many projects across multiple states designed, stamped, and submitted based on the 300' max length guidance.
Recently though, I've begun to question this guidance. It all started when I was reading some city or county manual and there was mention that sheet flow max length is actually less than 300'. Didn't dive deep into it, but I did bring it up in a quick chat with my manager. He said we'd circle back to it but in the meantime to keep using 300'. As the weeks went on, I totally forgot about this. That was until we picked up a project that had been on pause for some time. I was reviewing the the calculations and design that had been done up to that point (a combination of my work from my early weeks at the company + someone no longer employed at the company + my manager). It was then I was reminded about what I had read regarding sheet flow maximum length.
The other night I decided to spend some time to see what's up. Started with WinTR-55 since that's a program developed by the USDA using TR-55 manual. In their historical background (https://www.ars.usda.gov/research/software/download/?softwareid=8) they include Part 630 of the NRCS National Engineering Handbook as a technical reference. So then I found that handbook. Chapter 15 page 15-7 includes the following language in the shallow concentrated flow section "After approximately 100 feet, sheet flow usually becomes shallow concentrated flow." And now I'm confused. Two credible resources are saying 2 different things. I kept digging. Now that we use HydroCAD, I looked into what it has to say and was eventually led to a document complied by William Merkel in 2001 (https://hydrocad.net/pdf/SheetFlowRefs.pdf) . In there, there are multiple references to using 100' as opposed to 300'. Wondered if it is a jurisdictional choice of which to follow. I then went to look at a number of different state manuals to see what they have to say. Iowa & Texas explicitly state to use 100' as the maximum sheet flow length. Minnesota had a more indirect route, but following it leads you to the conclusion to use 100'.
Decided to plug in 100' and compare to what we currently have. Tc lowered by 17 minutes with the 100-yr peak Q increasing by 8.18 cfs. That Q increase is enough of a difference that it would cause re-work of some of the design. According to the PM, that is something we don't seem to have time for right now.
All of this leads to my question; Is it appropriate to use 300' as the maximum sheet flow length while calculating time of concentration or is there enough evidence that justifies/requires lowering that maximum to 100'? (Like I mentioned before, there are some states that make it really clear. I'm wondering about situations where the wording is more ambiguous and appears to be up to us).

I am at a loss. I've used FreeTaxUSA for years but this is the first year I'm filing as a homeowner. The boxes are as follows:

1. Interest - $17,791.71
2. Outstanding Mortgage Principal - $803,250
3. Origination date 8/23

FreeTaxUSA just sends me to the IRS worksheet for figuring out how much of this I can actually deduct (since the limit is $750,000) and I'm just at a complete loss as to how to fill that worksheet out. The IRS instructions have me spinning in circles. I've tried to find a website that has an automated version of the calculator, and can't find anything. Can anyone suggest a simple way of calculating this?
Thanks!

Sorry to post on your sub but Google was super not helpful. My 3rd grade nephew has a worksheet directing to circle the little word. Can someone please explain what a "little word" is? My kids didn't have that in 3rd grade 2 years ago and we're stumped trying to properly direct the kiddo

My child is currently living with his father but his father is sending him back to me, he didn't give a reason but I can surmise my son and his step mom not getting along is the reason.
I'm overjoyed to have him back but the last time I had him, his dad refused child support and I didn't pursue any legal avenues about it.
He's already said he will pay child support this time but he wants us to negotiate between the two of us to find a "fair amount." I have a child support order from back when my son was a baby.
His father now makes a LOT more income but he doesn't want to pay the amount of the original order because he felt it was not fair based on what his armchair lawyers (not lawyers) in his circle have said they pay for their support.
Should I just petition the court to do the income/expenses worksheet again or should I just go with whatever since I'm really just glad to have my son back. Or is there a way to get the original order enforced and will I be charged a fee by the original order to pursue that? I'm awaiting a disability judgment and can't work so it's going to be really difficult to make this work without any support.
Thank you in advance for any thoughts on this matter.

My 2 year-old Cockapoo destroyed my grandson’s math homework!

I'm not yet old enough to enlist, but I'm planning on doing so once I turn 17. I've done lots of research, and I think I want to be a 12b. As an engineer MOS, I'd assume it's a male-dominated area. I'm female. What's the situation like for a female soldier in a predominantly male field?
Also, would it be better to join an ROTC in college before enlisting, or go to a military academy, as opposed to being an enlisted soldier?
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What’s the quality of life for a 68W wanting to be stationed in Hawaii? I’ve got an Option 19 on my contract and my wife and I are trying to decide a good location for her to be able to work and also enjoy not being stuck in BFE like we have most of our lives. 24M if that matters at all. Thanks in advance!
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I am a college student, graduating in 8-14 months, for Management Information Systems. I have a lot of corporate software internship experience but I am looking to join the army because I can't imagine doing a desk job (at least at this point in life). Given my education I am only considering Intelligence or Cyber, and most likely 17C. As far as I've been informed nothing is as technical (software not hardware like 35T) or translates to post-service. I am looking to sign an option 40, spend a year in a Ranger Battalion, then go for special forces after I've given my time there. I've seen that Rangers are open to 17C enlistments. I am not signing a 18x contract because I have no experience with the military and I think would be better off taking it slow and acclimating both physically and mentally. I did not do army ROTC and at this point it is too late for me to join up. I am only interested in joining the army to go for Ranger or SF. Hopefully I can integrate my college and work experience into it, but if I had to make a decision I would prioritize RangeSF over getting the ideal technical MOS. I took the picat and got 99th percentile, not sure about line scores. Soon to go to MEPS. I am physically fit, but not at the level of rucking 100lbs for 8 hours. TLDR- I want action in the army as well as technical stuff, so I can do high priced contracting or maybe three letter work after I get out. Few questions: Is 17C my best bet? Should I look at OCS and how does that work (what part of the process)? What is the minimum time for a contract like this? Does this whole plan make sense? Please let me know if I am missing any information or if there are any different or better ideas. (Or ask me any questions)
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What are the differences between 35L and 35M? How do I know which one is best for me to reclassify as?
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Hello all! I am writing to get some clarification on MEPS. I am 22 years old and ready to serve my country. I have met with my recruiter and was asked about my medical history. I had a diagnosis of ADHD in high school, which I have now outgrown. I was also prescribed an antidepressant in 2018 (during high school) and again in 2021. I refilled both prescriptions twice in my life. I have been transparent with the recruiter and he suggested I fill out a waiver for the ADHD. I have obtained my prescription record which corroborates that I only refilled an antidepressant RX twice and have not taken medication or seen a doctor since 2021. As I entered adulthood I have learned to cope by eating healthier, staying active and educating himself on importance of maintaining a balanced lifestyle. My question is will MEPS disqualify me based on my history with depression from 3 years ago? Will I be ok to enlist? Have you had a similar experience? Thanking everyone in advance for your anticipated suggestions and guidance.
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Im graduating high school in the summer and plan on enlisting in the Army. I've got around 5 months left for my braces and I saw online that you can't go to basic with braces. Should I visit my recruiter and pick a ship out date (after hashing everything out, including taking the ASVAB) or should I just wait until then and maybe get a bonus for shipping out within 30 days then?
Also the MOS that I want, 27D has an ASVAB score recuirement of 105 Clerical, if I don't achieve that score on the first try, can I retake it or is it one and done?
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Does the Army have a plan for deploying units during mobilization? Many armies have reserve units that will be deployed in the event of a major conflict, filled with equipment taken from storage and mobilized soldiers. Do such units exist in the US Army? As far as I know they existed before 1991, but I don’t know the current situation
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I am 16 years old, waiting to enroll once I’m 17. I currently take EMS classes, and I’m interested in being a Flight Medic in the Army. If anyone is a Flight Medic, then I’d like to know what it’s exactly like being one? I’m also open for any advice on how to decide between all of the careers. I love to help people and work with trauma patients, but I’d also love to be on the ground and much closer to the combat, possibly in it too, but I don’t know if I’d want to take that big of a risk.
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I'm enlisting as a 68D in May. What is your day-to-day like? Is this job transferable to the civilian side?
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Info on mos 13f
Was just curious on the everyday life and the goods and bads. My Asvab score allows me almost any job but this one has stuck out the most.
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How do you Army Chaplains like your job? Do you have any extra info or tips on what they do and how you become one? And is it possible to reclass into one?
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Fort Meade (Civilian)
I have a family member who just moved to work at fort Meade as a civilian and I looking for others who live on base to get to know and hang out with (bonus points if they’re on or close to Reece Crossings!) It was a huge change and he moved so far from home and is trying get to know some new people. Any social media groups or advice is super helpful!
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Can anyone offer any insight on being an Army Guard infantry officer? Looking for overall job satisfaction, pros & cons. I know it’ll differ state to state however any kind of insight would be appreciated. My husband is prior service AD army, 11B. He’s currently deciding between enlisted air guard eod & army guard infantry. There’s many pros and cons to both, but right now we just don’t have any contacts to get in touch with to get an honest feel for what officer life in army guard is like so it’s making the decision difficult. I’ve been air guard for 10 years, so we’re very familiar with the unit & are able to talk to the shop directly. Right now commissioning is appealing, and it’s much easier process in army than air guard. He’s fully qualified, done with Meps and we’re really just at the deciding stage. Any thoughts are appreciated!
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What MOS should I pick?
So I’m thinking of joining the Army, and since they’re the only branch I qualify for, I was wondering what my options are.
Why do I want to join? Well, there’s not a lot of opportunity for me at home. Most jobs available are not only dead ends, but I can’t even get one single fast food job because they’re all taken.
I have no money to go to a university, and since I can’t get a job, I can barely pay for community college. Financial aid doesn’t cover my costs either.
I scored a 69 on the ASVAB. Here are my line scores:
GT106 CL108 CO105 EL104 FA106 GM102 MM99
OF103 SC106 ST107
For jobs, for starters, I’d love to travel a lot. I think that would be pretty fun. Initially I wanted to do fixed wing aviation in the Air Force or Navy, but they won’t take me, and I’m not really into Army aviation.
I thought about doing 19K (tanks), that seems pretty fun, but it doesn’t seem like they travel all that much. I thought about infantry for the guns…but I hear they’re not really going anywhere either.
So far, none of the jobs really interest me. I don’t really find most career fields interesting in general. I was always into artsy stuff like music or videos. I love creating things independently, but it’s also twice the fun when you create and finish together with a team.
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Hello, I'm make this post to ask if I would be allowed to join the army if I have constipation issues. My GI doctor told me to take Miralax for it and I've been taking it for 3 years now and can't go to the restroom without it. I've been interested in joining the army and I'm talking to a recruiter right now and he said I might be good. I'm going to take the ASVAB in a few days. Would I be allowed to join the army If I'm taking this medicine and would I be allowed to continue taking it if I were to be allowed to join. Like would I get it from the army pharmacy at basic or could I take it with me from home?
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I’m going through about a decades worth of old army documentation I’ve had in a dusty old container and kept moving forward between duty stations “just in case I get a random statement of charges”. I’m now shredding almost everything.
Is there anything I 100% absolutely should not shred?
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Which 91 series MOS should I join
Which 91 series MOS should I join I'm currently working on enlisting and have qualified for several 91 series jobs based on my immigration status and ASVAB scores. I'm very conflicted on choice between 91P, 91S, 91B and 91M (My prefered shortlist). Some insight on the daily life and satisfaction rate of these specific MOS. I would love some outside experienced opinions to help direct me to a better army career. My goal is to serve in the 91 series for a short time while I wait for a 15 series opening, or better till I can get a warrant packet in. Also I'm doing it for citizenship and college. Thanks for reading
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Overweight, Looking to join.
I guess I'll start this off by saying I know I'm nowhere near ready to join and probably far off the fat camp aswell, But I'm really interested in becoming a 17C. I'm 23 ATM but by time I feel like I would have lost enough weight probably 24 1/2. I weigh 338 pounds at 6ft. My questions are, What weight can I be at for the fat camp and do you think it is realistic to lose 100 pounds in a year.
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How is the 91P life in the army?
I'm planning on enlisting with the 91P mos, and I'm just doing my research and comparing other 91 series jobs I'm interested in.
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I used to love my garmount NFS, but have changed jobs and need black boots, what's the closest boot in similarity to an NFS, something that I can run/ruck in?
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Has anybody ever met or been a 12W in the 75th in this subreddit? I know the mos is small and then making it to regiment is a tall task on it's own. I'm wanting to join as a 12W Option 40 because I'd get the benefit of lifelong skills and being an elite soldier (if I make it of course) but I know it's a slim chance of me getting that MOS paired w Option 40 so I was just wondering if anybody has even heard of or known somebody to have a beret and be a 12W and what their job looks like in regiment
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I’m curious about the fspc course I’m 5 10 and 220 pounds and can’t really find any info about it I’m trying to talk to a recruiter I’m trying to figure out if I qualify or what ever
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i cant choose which one 11x or 13f i got a buddy who is 11b so i got a little info on that and i do as much research as i can on 13f but i don't know any of them to talk to personally, i think i'll be fine with either, i have a pretty good mindset but i just can't decide, i want to shoot guns and do all that fun shit (ik i'll hate it don't worry, that's the point) i don't know if i'll get enough of that in 13f but i also hear infantry people don't even do any of the actual shit 90% of the time so idk, could someone help me decide?
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Joining USAR Medical Corps as a physician
Hey guys, I’m looking to join the USAR as a medical student in the reserves. I have a few questions about retirement and career progression opportunities.
I’ll be getting off active duty with 5 years in the Marines and I’ve got a DD368 ready to prevent a gap in service from active Marines to Army Reserve. I’ve been accepted to medical school and it looks like the MDSSP program will be the best for my situation as I’m not interested in remaining full-time on active duty, don’t want to completely end my military career, and I want to keep Tricare for my family. The Army is the only branch that allows students to drill and draw stipends while only obligating them to reserve service after.
1) I’m planning to go for 20 years minimum. I’ll be at 11-16 years of total service (depending on how much financial assistance I accept) once my service obligation is up. Can anyone imagine a situation where they wouldn’t let me hit my 20 so I could get a reserve retirement? How long would they theoretically let me stay on as a physician in the reserves?
2) How often will reserve physicians be able to deploy, and are they truly 90 day deployments?
3) What are the penultimate career goals as a reserve physician? What are some career milestones you’d recommend I aim for?
4) How difficult would it be to serve on active duty orders? I’d be very interested in voluntarily picking up active orders from time to time.
5) Would I be able to apply for programs such as FAO, Congressional Fellowships, senior level schools/PME, and other broadening tours in the same way as active duty officers?
6) Would my career progression follow closely to the active duty timing once I join the Medical Corps? (Major at ~10 years, LtCol at ~17 years, etc)
7) For current and former reserve docs, would you do it again?
8) USAR and the Guard both have the same program. Is it worth considering the guard?
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What’s the difference between a 35L in the 75th ranger regiment and a 35L that’s not?
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Can family transport you from Basic Training at Fort Sill to AIT at Fort Sam Houston following graduation day? Getting mixed info.
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I’m a smart, capable student, in my senior year of high school, graduating in the top 5% of my class. I’m bound for UT Austin next school year but am now questioning if that’s the right move for me. I’ve gotten no scholarships and though my parents are willing to help, I’ll inevitably be forced to take out loans and likely won’t be financially stable for some time, if ever. I intend to study anthropology because that’s what truly interests me but I know there’s not much money in any career pertaining to that degree. Throughout high school, there’ve been recruiters coming into my classes, promising many appealing benefits such as paying for my college in full as well as my rent while I live at the city I attend college in. I just need to be in the army at least 3 years. Something that also appeals to me is the fact I can go into a career where I gain experience as an automotive mechanic, which is something that interests me and I find much value in. I consider myself fairly resilient and healthy and don’t feel incapable of doing what will be expected of me. With all these benefits, mechanical experience, basically free rent and college, and the opportunity to accumulate savings, the army sounds like the smartest, but not the most glamorous, option for me. My question to you all is: is joining the army worth it for me? Would I actually be able to go for three years, accumulate savings, and return to UT Austin to complete my higher education? Or is the recruiter painting too pretty a picture and though I may receive some benefits, it won’t be worth it in the end, sacrificing three years I could instead spend in Austin, living the traditional college life in a new, exciting environment.
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My friend just found out today that he will be doing basic training at Fort Sill instead of Fort Jackson. If anyone has graduated from there recently, I'm curious what your experience was like, and any advice you have for people going there. I'd also appreciate any advice on how to support him while he's there. Particularly, what should I expect with communication? I gave him envelopes and stamps so he can write when he is able. Are there certain things I should or should not include in letters? Thanks!
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Is 2-2 infantry division/ 8-1 cav still dog shit?
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Im in the process of joining as an E-4 and doing very well, asvab wise and everything else except a major thing, I had a suicide attempt almost 2 years ago and end it up in the hospital, I requested my medical records to see what they wrote, they put it down as intensional overdose and depression, I had a therapist prior but I’ve been treating myself with a psychiatrist since then, they I wasn’t sent to psychiatry because they didn’t consider me a risk for myself of others so I was never committed and just asked to follow up, also wrote down that I have very good coping mechanisms as though why I don’t require medication, does this means that I have no chance at joining the army and should just give up before going to meps? I told my recruiter about the depression but not the suicidal attempt, he says most likely I’ll need a Letter from my therapist.
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At the risk of seeming petty and impatient... How long does it take to get a call back after submitting the required documents to the recruiter?
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25H
I was originally going looking towards 25B but found 25H and seems interesting. Any 25H that can give some more information on this mos ?
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35M or 35P, which is better
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Hey everyone, kind of searching for some advice here.
I’m in my lower 30’s and signed an 18x contract - I ship in June. I’ve spent the last year preparing and am just now finding my stride and really hitting the running times I need to be competitive. I left my previous career in preparation of this and have been thinking about SOF since 2019.
I haven’t had any issues with training or my body up until recently. I played hockey and football growing up and have the wear and tear to show for it. Most notably, from separate incidents, I fractured a vertebrae and I had a back surgery for a herniated disk - both injuries not too far from each other in my lower back.
My problem is while I haven’t had any issues in a while (at least a year or two) I recently had a bad flare up that started as back pain and transitioned to sciatic pain. Both of these things have been pretty manageable in the past and pain is something I’m pretty accustom to.
With that all being said - I’m more self aware with this pain. I’m currently in the best shape of my life so far, and haven’t been able to train in four or five days because of this flare up. I know the training ahead of me is going to push me way harder than I ever could and wonder how my body will handle it. I’m aware of breaking away from the DEP, but it really bothers me to even consider that.
I just wonder if I missed the train and take this as a sign to refocus? Do I press on and hope for the best? What would you do?
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Should I take Continuation pay on my next re up? Career counselor is strongly advising. Guessed it because he says it's going to take away from our retirement and hinder me later on
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I have a safety razor with replaceable razor blades. Would I be able to bring that basic training
or will they take away the razor blades? Will I be better off just buying a disposable razor?
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How is Schofield (ARMY)
Anyone have any experience or information they know about 25th INF DIV 3rd BCT ? How’s life like for people who just joined ? Especially those in Signal mos. How is the deployment rate ?
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Is 35T the only 35 series job that doesn't have the language school requirement or has less language requirements than the other 35 jobs?
Also do any of the 2 year contract combat jobs have good day to day job duties? I only know the 11B Job (Infantry) so maybe there's a good job I'm missing in those
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how does joining without credit work? i’m getting married soon, and want to rent off base whenever i join. am i able to do that without credit? i don’t know how to adult :(
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Did 4 years AD, Then went IRR for 8 months, then reserves now in a will train slot where the school has been denied like 3 times now. Tired of waiting. Wanting to go back active duty reclass as a 19C(Seen that SWEET tier 9 bonus for E4) Previously I was a 13F in a ABCT. Is it just a whole new contract or? Has anyone does anything like this similar?
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I'm thinking of joining the reserves. I'm 33 married with kids. I have a job with local government, however I've always wanted to serve. It's been on my heart lately to talk to a recruiter and get it started. Anybody out there with advice as to what the initial steps are and what to expect. Thank you.
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Thinking of enlisting and I need guidance?
I'm gonna be graduating in the summer and originally planned on going to a 4 year college. I've gotten mostly waitlisted at almost all my colleges and might have to go to community college if I want to stay on that track. I live in a very affluent and rich area so the community college is good but I'm not sure if I want to go along with that and don't feel like taking a gap year.
I want to end up being a lawyer one day but I also want to be independent right now so say I hypothetically don't get off these waitlists, it's either CC or the military in my eyes. I only want to do 4 years because I still would have to attend undergrad and law school and I want to raise a family before I turn 35-ish. The army sounds the best to me because of the wide variety of jobs to choose from. The MOS 27D, paralegal specialist sounds pretty good as well.
I also want to live a full life and I understand that all the "jumping out of planes" and "shooting large guns" is mostly just a selling point, but it seems like enlisting in the Army is what makes these once in a lifetime experiences possible. There are so many benefits but at the same time, I would be re-entering civilian life and hopefully going into undergrad at 21, which seems crazy. I would be academically behind my peers by 4 years.
I'm really at one of the greatest cross roads of my life, does anyone have any advice, or have been in the position themselves? How is enlisting? What should I expect?
Thinking of enlisting, in need of guidance!
I'm gonna be graduating in the summer and originally planned on going to a 4 year college. I've gotten mostly waitlisted at almost all my colleges and might have to go to community college if I want to stay on that track. I live in a very affluent and rich area so the community college is good but I'm not sure if I want to go along with that and don't feel like taking a gap year.
I want to end up being a lawyer one day but I also want to be independent right now so say I hypothetically don't get off these waitlists, it's either CC or the military in my eyes. I only want to do 4 years because I still would have to attend undergrad and law school and I want to raise a family before I turn 35-ish. The army sounds the best to me because of the wide variety of jobs to choose from. The MOS 27D, paralegal specialist sounds pretty good as well.
I also want to live a full life and I understand that all the "jumping out of planes" and "shooting large guns" is mostly just a selling point, but it seems like enlisting in the Army is what makes these once in a lifetime experiences possible. There are so many benefits but at the same time, I would be re-entering civilian life and hopefully going into undergrad at 21, which seems crazy. I would be academically behind my peers by 4 years.
I'm really at one of the greatest cross roads of my life, does anyone have any advice, or have been in the position themselves? How is enlisting? What should I expect?
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Hello, I'm a recruit going in as a small arms repairman for the army. I am going to Fort Sill Oklahoma for basic training and then will be sent to Fort Campbell. In all of this, I am very confused as there is very little concrete discussion or evidence that I can find that tells me all the contact points I will be able to get with my loved ones. I know I can send and receive letters, but I don't know, how to go through that process, where if any i can acquire the materials to write the letters, and how soon I can expect to receive letters from my loves ones once I get in. I understand that at some point later in the training, to the drill sergeants discretion, that I will be able to gain access to my phone, but I haven't found concrete numbers as to how long and under what restrictions or if that is also to the drill sergeants mood and demeanor for the day. I also do not know how I will be able to get my address or other information to my loved ones so that they will be able to send letters to me or if there's a separate process for that as different in sending letters. I also do not realize much if any about how family day will work, under what restrictions, when it is, or how many can come.
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I realize this is a long, contrived, and possibly stupid list of questions. I also realize that I may sound quite dumb in asking them, but I am very close to my small circle of loved ones and would like to take any steps necessary to be as connected with them as possible while I am not there, which includes seeking all the information and resources I can on the matter, even if I'm an idiot for asking. Even just answering one of these questions would be a huge help and I would genuinely greatly appreciate it, thank you.
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So I’m graduating high school in May and for the longest time have been wanting to enlist in the military (every since i was little).
Now I’ve been thinking Navy (I love the ocean), but Army is starting to interest me more as I more than likely wont end up on a ship. The other reason for Navy is that the Navy recruiter seemed willing to help me as I will need waivers compared to the Army recruiter who didn’t seem interested.
I’m not in the best physical shape i will say, but i’m hoping to change that for when I can enlist. I do have a history of depression and anxiety which has been resolved. I’ve been off meds for 4 months for one, and 3 months for the other (i know i need to wait a year) I’m stable off of them. I know some people are gonna think i’m dumb for wanting to enlist due to past mental problems.
What’s your thoughts on army? is it worth it?
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Have been debating on "rejoining" the army again for some time now. (I say rejoining cause I went in 2017 when I turned 18 but quit due to Tiny Heart Syndrome) Anyway.
I am 25 now and have matured a lot over the past few years but something has always worried me about rejoining. A lot of the things I see not get answered is the niche stuff about the army. The weird almost stupid sounding questions. Where do I go when I get to my first unit? If I need to talk to an officer outside, do I stand at attention and talk to him, even if he keeps walking? Do I follow him? I'm Sure the questions I'm asking will be answered by someone close to graduation, but its anxiety I have about the weird niche questions.
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I guess my big question here is: Does it just come naturally after a while? Does it all just click and make sense at some point? I wanna feel like Ill eventually know what I'm doing and it will just become normal at some point. I don't wanna be the shitbag PVT who either doesn't make it or worse turns into a shitbag SGT eventually.
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Army Tattoo Question
Im a high schooler planning to do ROTC (shooting for a contract) then going active duty. Would you guys recommend just waiting to get tattoos until i’m in and contracts are signed just to be safe, or as long as I follow Army policy, I should be safe?
Anything to consider or anything i’d be automatically disqualified for with having those identifying marks on my body?
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I’ve enlisted already, leaving in July. Got MP for 5 years. I’ve got a couple of questions.

1. My training and boot camp are going to be combined (so 5 months). I know boot camp has a graduation, but since mine’s combined will I have one after trainings over? How will my living space be arranged? (I saw that some people going through AIT had more of a college dorm space.) Will it just be sorta like a switch from boot to AIT in the middle? Basically what’s different then just normal boot camp? (Other than length)
   
2. I’m going in as an E-3, are there certain things I should know more about? Will I be treated differently?
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I have tinnitus but my hearing is fine. Only thing that sorta worries me is boot camp at night. Is it completely quiet? Or is there a little noise. I think I will be ok but still is decently loud when it's completely quiet.
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Im about to turn 24 and have dreams of serving in the ranger regiment one day, however, i went through a break up almost 2 years ago that had really affected my mental health. It was a rather abusive relationship. My mother being a nurse practitioner really pressured me into seeing a doctor (not psychologist) about me being depressed. They prescribed me some anti anxiety medication that I never took. I'm actually rather against the practice of handing out medication like that to anyone off the street off of a 10 question worksheet. I found my stride again a couple months after that so needless to say, it's not a reoccurring issue. I'm wondering if this will disqualify me from joining up in a combat mos.
Tldr: doc said I was depressed, found my stride again and hasn't been a reoccurring issue. Will this disqualify me from a combat mos?
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I want to go into the Army after I finish high school and I plan on becoming an 11B or, if possible, try for 18 series. However, I am an only child and I have been told that I can't go into any combat roles. Is this true? If so, is there any way I can get around it with a waiver or something?
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Wondering which one is the current fitness test, ACFT or APFT?
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I failed my psych eval and Im wondering if anyone has any knowledge if l'm able to apply to another branch I was Appling to army and just got the word today that I failed and id be able to apply again next year is it possible 1 get a different evaluation from a different doctor or maybe I'd be able to apply to another branch and be able to be accepted I assume since I've been denied by the army I wouldn't qualify for any other branch but I'm not for sure does anyone know?
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Need some serious advice
Hey everyone, I'm in a bit of a pickle.
Its been a dream of mine to go into OCS and handle artillery, especially regarding laser weapons (Valkyrie comes to mind).
I've studied Physics and went into laser physics, currently working in a company as a manufacturing engineer (again working with high power pulsed lasers).
I'm 24 and my GPA is 2.7, from this point on I will list the problems. I can score 88 on the ASVAB btw
I've never lived in US despite being a US citizen. All my studies are abroad and I currently live in a country that allows me to do all the paperwork, contract included without leaving here. I'm already in talks with the recruiter and he said this wouldn't cause problems with clearance.
I have an ADHD diagnosis from 5 years ago, took ritalin for 2 years, been off for 26 months. This info doesn't show up in the records that I can reach. I also had an OCD diagnosis but that is completely off the books and I'm not medicated for it.
I know everyone is gonna tell me to be honest, but translating all the records, proving that I'm capable etc would be an herculean task and my dad (AF officer) as well as his friends are advising me to not mention it and just choose "no" on everything. They say that even with Genesis, they can't reach foreign records in that country.
I want to be honest, but I also want to accomplish my dreams without getting older. What would you do in my shoes?
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I will be leaving for boot camp in 2 weeks at Ft. Sill any tips? Also, my mos is 35G is this a good mos for post-military? How is promotion as a 35G and how is it day to day?
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Today I got the response that my moral waiver was approved. I want to do either 35L or 35M, I’m talking to a disciplinary counselor Tuesday. Has anyone with the experience got advice about the waiver for the 35L or 35M? Will I need one? If so whats the process? And what do I need to do?
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Was told by mod to post this here:
Yesterday I finished the last thing I needed to do in order to enlist (eye consult) at MEPS. I passed my exam & my recruiter said I should expect to enlist next Thursday/Friday. This has been a long time coming and I’m excited to start this new journey.
I’ve narrowed down the jobs I believe I would enjoy doing to 35L, 35F and 25B. I meet the requirements for all three but I’m genuinely having a tough time picking one. My goal after the Army is to do bigger picture law enforcement, and yesterday having spoke to many people in intelligence they said 35L would be the perfect MOS for me.
If I do go to MEPS next week to sign a contract I’m a bit worried they will try and fuck with me and try to persuade me to do something else. I plan on staying strong and not settling for anything else besides these three.
I guess what I’m asking is if anyone can give me insight to these three jobs, personal experience or things they’ve heard. Are these jobs hard to get? How is the quality of life? Are they interesting and fulfilling?
Is there a big difference between 35L & 35F?
Any insight is greatly appreciated! Thank you.
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Going to fort Eisenhower as a 25b wondering if I can volunteer for airborne while I’m there,and what would I have to do to get it?
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How do I volunteer for recruiting
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I'm not yet old enough to enlist, but I'm planning on doing so once I turn 17. I've done lots of research, and I think I want to be a 12b. As an engineer MOS, I'd assume it's a male-dominated area. I'm female. What's the situation like for a female soldier in a predominantly male field?
Also, would it be better to join an ROTC in college before enlisting, or go to a military academy, as opposed to being an enlisted soldier?
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What’s the quality of life for a 68W wanting to be stationed in Hawaii? I’ve got an Option 19 on my contract and my wife and I are trying to decide a good location for her to be able to work and also enjoy not being stuck in BFE like we have most of our lives. 24M if that matters at all. Thanks in advance!
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I am a college student, graduating in 8-14 months, for Management Information Systems. I have a lot of corporate software internship experience but I am looking to join the army because I can't imagine doing a desk job (at least at this point in life). Given my education I am only considering Intelligence or Cyber, and most likely 17C. As far as I've been informed nothing is as technical (software not hardware like 35T) or translates to post-service. I am looking to sign an option 40, spend a year in a Ranger Battalion, then go for special forces after I've given my time there. I've seen that Rangers are open to 17C enlistments. I am not signing a 18x contract because I have no experience with the military and I think would be better off taking it slow and acclimating both physically and mentally. I did not do army ROTC and at this point it is too late for me to join up. I am only interested in joining the army to go for Ranger or SF. Hopefully I can integrate my college and work experience into it, but if I had to make a decision I would prioritize RangeSF over getting the ideal technical MOS. I took the picat and got 99th percentile, not sure about line scores. Soon to go to MEPS. I am physically fit, but not at the level of rucking 100lbs for 8 hours. TLDR- I want action in the army as well as technical stuff, so I can do high priced contracting or maybe three letter work after I get out. Few questions: Is 17C my best bet? Should I look at OCS and how does that work (what part of the process)? What is the minimum time for a contract like this? Does this whole plan make sense? Please let me know if I am missing any information or if there are any different or better ideas. (Or ask me any questions)
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What are the differences between 35L and 35M? How do I know which one is best for me to reclassify as?
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Hello all! I am writing to get some clarification on MEPS. I am 22 years old and ready to serve my country. I have met with my recruiter and was asked about my medical history. I had a diagnosis of ADHD in high school, which I have now outgrown. I was also prescribed an antidepressant in 2018 (during high school) and again in 2021. I refilled both prescriptions twice in my life. I have been transparent with the recruiter and he suggested I fill out a waiver for the ADHD. I have obtained my prescription record which corroborates that I only refilled an antidepressant RX twice and have not taken medication or seen a doctor since 2021. As I entered adulthood I have learned to cope by eating healthier, staying active and educating himself on importance of maintaining a balanced lifestyle. My question is will MEPS disqualify me based on my history with depression from 3 years ago? Will I be ok to enlist? Have you had a similar experience? Thanking everyone in advance for your anticipated suggestions and guidance.
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Im graduating high school in the summer and plan on enlisting in the Army. I've got around 5 months left for my braces and I saw online that you can't go to basic with braces. Should I visit my recruiter and pick a ship out date (after hashing everything out, including taking the ASVAB) or should I just wait until then and maybe get a bonus for shipping out within 30 days then?
Also the MOS that I want, 27D has an ASVAB score recuirement of 105 Clerical, if I don't achieve that score on the first try, can I retake it or is it one and done?
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Does the Army have a plan for deploying units during mobilization? Many armies have reserve units that will be deployed in the event of a major conflict, filled with equipment taken from storage and mobilized soldiers. Do such units exist in the US Army? As far as I know they existed before 1991, but I don’t know the current situation
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I am 16 years old, waiting to enroll once I’m 17. I currently take EMS classes, and I’m interested in being a Flight Medic in the Army. If anyone is a Flight Medic, then I’d like to know what it’s exactly like being one? I’m also open for any advice on how to decide between all of the careers. I love to help people and work with trauma patients, but I’d also love to be on the ground and much closer to the combat, possibly in it too, but I don’t know if I’d want to take that big of a risk.
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I'm enlisting as a 68D in May. What is your day-to-day like? Is this job transferable to the civilian side?
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Info on mos 13f
Was just curious on the everyday life and the goods and bads. My Asvab score allows me almost any job but this one has stuck out the most.
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How do you Army Chaplains like your job? Do you have any extra info or tips on what they do and how you become one? And is it possible to reclass into one?
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Fort Meade (Civilian)
I have a family member who just moved to work at fort Meade as a civilian and I looking for others who live on base to get to know and hang out with (bonus points if they’re on or close to Reece Crossings!) It was a huge change and he moved so far from home and is trying get to know some new people. Any social media groups or advice is super helpful!
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Can anyone offer any insight on being an Army Guard infantry officer? Looking for overall job satisfaction, pros & cons. I know it’ll differ state to state however any kind of insight would be appreciated. My husband is prior service AD army, 11B. He’s currently deciding between enlisted air guard eod & army guard infantry. There’s many pros and cons to both, but right now we just don’t have any contacts to get in touch with to get an honest feel for what officer life in army guard is like so it’s making the decision difficult. I’ve been air guard for 10 years, so we’re very familiar with the unit & are able to talk to the shop directly. Right now commissioning is appealing, and it’s much easier process in army than air guard. He’s fully qualified, done with Meps and we’re really just at the deciding stage. Any thoughts are appreciated!
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What MOS should I pick?
So I’m thinking of joining the Army, and since they’re the only branch I qualify for, I was wondering what my options are.
Why do I want to join? Well, there’s not a lot of opportunity for me at home. Most jobs available are not only dead ends, but I can’t even get one single fast food job because they’re all taken.
I have no money to go to a university, and since I can’t get a job, I can barely pay for community college. Financial aid doesn’t cover my costs either.
I scored a 69 on the ASVAB. Here are my line scores:
GT106 CL108 CO105 EL104 FA106 GM102 MM99
OF103 SC106 ST107
For jobs, for starters, I’d love to travel a lot. I think that would be pretty fun. Initially I wanted to do fixed wing aviation in the Air Force or Navy, but they won’t take me, and I’m not really into Army aviation.
I thought about doing 19K (tanks), that seems pretty fun, but it doesn’t seem like they travel all that much. I thought about infantry for the guns…but I hear they’re not really going anywhere either.
So far, none of the jobs really interest me. I don’t really find most career fields interesting in general. I was always into artsy stuff like music or videos. I love creating things independently, but it’s also twice the fun when you create and finish together with a team.
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Hello, I'm make this post to ask if I would be allowed to join the army if I have constipation issues. My GI doctor told me to take Miralax for it and I've been taking it for 3 years now and can't go to the restroom without it. I've been interested in joining the army and I'm talking to a recruiter right now and he said I might be good. I'm going to take the ASVAB in a few days. Would I be allowed to join the army If I'm taking this medicine and would I be allowed to continue taking it if I were to be allowed to join. Like would I get it from the army pharmacy at basic or could I take it with me from home?
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I’m going through about a decades worth of old army documentation I’ve had in a dusty old container and kept moving forward between duty stations “just in case I get a random statement of charges”. I’m now shredding almost everything.
Is there anything I 100% absolutely should not shred?
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Which 91 series MOS should I join
Which 91 series MOS should I join I'm currently working on enlisting and have qualified for several 91 series jobs based on my immigration status and ASVAB scores. I'm very conflicted on choice between 91P, 91S, 91B and 91M (My prefered shortlist). Some insight on the daily life and satisfaction rate of these specific MOS. I would love some outside experienced opinions to help direct me to a better army career. My goal is to serve in the 91 series for a short time while I wait for a 15 series opening, or better till I can get a warrant packet in. Also I'm doing it for citizenship and college. Thanks for reading
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Overweight, Looking to join.
I guess I'll start this off by saying I know I'm nowhere near ready to join and probably far off the fat camp aswell, But I'm really interested in becoming a 17C. I'm 23 ATM but by time I feel like I would have lost enough weight probably 24 1/2. I weigh 338 pounds at 6ft. My questions are, What weight can I be at for the fat camp and do you think it is realistic to lose 100 pounds in a year.
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How is the 91P life in the army?
I'm planning on enlisting with the 91P mos, and I'm just doing my research and comparing other 91 series jobs I'm interested in.
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I used to love my garmount NFS, but have changed jobs and need black boots, what's the closest boot in similarity to an NFS, something that I can run/ruck in?
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Has anybody ever met or been a 12W in the 75th in this subreddit? I know the mos is small and then making it to regiment is a tall task on it's own. I'm wanting to join as a 12W Option 40 because I'd get the benefit of lifelong skills and being an elite soldier (if I make it of course) but I know it's a slim chance of me getting that MOS paired w Option 40 so I was just wondering if anybody has even heard of or known somebody to have a beret and be a 12W and what their job looks like in regiment
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I’m curious about the fspc course I’m 5 10 and 220 pounds and can’t really find any info about it I’m trying to talk to a recruiter I’m trying to figure out if I qualify or what ever
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i cant choose which one 11x or 13f i got a buddy who is 11b so i got a little info on that and i do as much research as i can on 13f but i don't know any of them to talk to personally, i think i'll be fine with either, i have a pretty good mindset but i just can't decide, i want to shoot guns and do all that fun shit (ik i'll hate it don't worry, that's the point) i don't know if i'll get enough of that in 13f but i also hear infantry people don't even do any of the actual shit 90% of the time so idk, could someone help me decide?
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Joining USAR Medical Corps as a physician
Hey guys, I’m looking to join the USAR as a medical student in the reserves. I have a few questions about retirement and career progression opportunities.
I’ll be getting off active duty with 5 years in the Marines and I’ve got a DD368 ready to prevent a gap in service from active Marines to Army Reserve. I’ve been accepted to medical school and it looks like the MDSSP program will be the best for my situation as I’m not interested in remaining full-time on active duty, don’t want to completely end my military career, and I want to keep Tricare for my family. The Army is the only branch that allows students to drill and draw stipends while only obligating them to reserve service after.
1) I’m planning to go for 20 years minimum. I’ll be at 11-16 years of total service (depending on how much financial assistance I accept) once my service obligation is up. Can anyone imagine a situation where they wouldn’t let me hit my 20 so I could get a reserve retirement? How long would they theoretically let me stay on as a physician in the reserves?
2) How often will reserve physicians be able to deploy, and are they truly 90 day deployments?
3) What are the penultimate career goals as a reserve physician? What are some career milestones you’d recommend I aim for?
4) How difficult would it be to serve on active duty orders? I’d be very interested in voluntarily picking up active orders from time to time.
5) Would I be able to apply for programs such as FAO, Congressional Fellowships, senior level schools/PME, and other broadening tours in the same way as active duty officers?
6) Would my career progression follow closely to the active duty timing once I join the Medical Corps? (Major at ~10 years, LtCol at ~17 years, etc)
7) For current and former reserve docs, would you do it again?
8) USAR and the Guard both have the same program. Is it worth considering the guard?
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What’s the difference between a 35L in the 75th ranger regiment and a 35L that’s not?
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Can family transport you from Basic Training at Fort Sill to AIT at Fort Sam Houston following graduation day? Getting mixed info.
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I’m a smart, capable student, in my senior year of high school, graduating in the top 5% of my class. I’m bound for UT Austin next school year but am now questioning if that’s the right move for me. I’ve gotten no scholarships and though my parents are willing to help, I’ll inevitably be forced to take out loans and likely won’t be financially stable for some time, if ever. I intend to study anthropology because that’s what truly interests me but I know there’s not much money in any career pertaining to that degree. Throughout high school, there’ve been recruiters coming into my classes, promising many appealing benefits such as paying for my college in full as well as my rent while I live at the city I attend college in. I just need to be in the army at least 3 years. Something that also appeals to me is the fact I can go into a career where I gain experience as an automotive mechanic, which is something that interests me and I find much value in. I consider myself fairly resilient and healthy and don’t feel incapable of doing what will be expected of me. With all these benefits, mechanical experience, basically free rent and college, and the opportunity to accumulate savings, the army sounds like the smartest, but not the most glamorous, option for me. My question to you all is: is joining the army worth it for me? Would I actually be able to go for three years, accumulate savings, and return to UT Austin to complete my higher education? Or is the recruiter painting too pretty a picture and though I may receive some benefits, it won’t be worth it in the end, sacrificing three years I could instead spend in Austin, living the traditional college life in a new, exciting environment.
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My friend just found out today that he will be doing basic training at Fort Sill instead of Fort Jackson. If anyone has graduated from there recently, I'm curious what your experience was like, and any advice you have for people going there. I'd also appreciate any advice on how to support him while he's there. Particularly, what should I expect with communication? I gave him envelopes and stamps so he can write when he is able. Are there certain things I should or should not include in letters? Thanks!
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Is 2-2 infantry division/ 8-1 cav still dog shit?
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Im in the process of joining as an E-4 and doing very well, asvab wise and everything else except a major thing, I had a suicide attempt almost 2 years ago and end it up in the hospital, I requested my medical records to see what they wrote, they put it down as intensional overdose and depression, I had a therapist prior but I’ve been treating myself with a psychiatrist since then, they I wasn’t sent to psychiatry because they didn’t consider me a risk for myself of others so I was never committed and just asked to follow up, also wrote down that I have very good coping mechanisms as though why I don’t require medication, does this means that I have no chance at joining the army and should just give up before going to meps? I told my recruiter about the depression but not the suicidal attempt, he says most likely I’ll need a Letter from my therapist.
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At the risk of seeming petty and impatient... How long does it take to get a call back after submitting the required documents to the recruiter?
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25H
I was originally going looking towards 25B but found 25H and seems interesting. Any 25H that can give some more information on this mos ?
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35M or 35P, which is better
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Hey everyone, kind of searching for some advice here.
I’m in my lower 30’s and signed an 18x contract - I ship in June. I’ve spent the last year preparing and am just now finding my stride and really hitting the running times I need to be competitive. I left my previous career in preparation of this and have been thinking about SOF since 2019.
I haven’t had any issues with training or my body up until recently. I played hockey and football growing up and have the wear and tear to show for it. Most notably, from separate incidents, I fractured a vertebrae and I had a back surgery for a herniated disk - both injuries not too far from each other in my lower back.
My problem is while I haven’t had any issues in a while (at least a year or two) I recently had a bad flare up that started as back pain and transitioned to sciatic pain. Both of these things have been pretty manageable in the past and pain is something I’m pretty accustom to.
With that all being said - I’m more self aware with this pain. I’m currently in the best shape of my life so far, and haven’t been able to train in four or five days because of this flare up. I know the training ahead of me is going to push me way harder than I ever could and wonder how my body will handle it. I’m aware of breaking away from the DEP, but it really bothers me to even consider that.
I just wonder if I missed the train and take this as a sign to refocus? Do I press on and hope for the best? What would you do?
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Should I take Continuation pay on my next re up? Career counselor is strongly advising. Guessed it because he says it's going to take away from our retirement and hinder me later on
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I have a safety razor with replaceable razor blades. Would I be able to bring that basic training
or will they take away the razor blades? Will I be better off just buying a disposable razor?
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How is Schofield (ARMY)
Anyone have any experience or information they know about 25th INF DIV 3rd BCT ? How’s life like for people who just joined ? Especially those in Signal mos. How is the deployment rate ?
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Is 35T the only 35 series job that doesn't have the language school requirement or has less language requirements than the other 35 jobs?
Also do any of the 2 year contract combat jobs have good day to day job duties? I only know the 11B Job (Infantry) so maybe there's a good job I'm missing in those
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how does joining without credit work? i’m getting married soon, and want to rent off base whenever i join. am i able to do that without credit? i don’t know how to adult :(
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Did 4 years AD, Then went IRR for 8 months, then reserves now in a will train slot where the school has been denied like 3 times now. Tired of waiting. Wanting to go back active duty reclass as a 19C(Seen that SWEET tier 9 bonus for E4) Previously I was a 13F in a ABCT. Is it just a whole new contract or? Has anyone does anything like this similar?
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I'm thinking of joining the reserves. I'm 33 married with kids. I have a job with local government, however I've always wanted to serve. It's been on my heart lately to talk to a recruiter and get it started. Anybody out there with advice as to what the initial steps are and what to expect. Thank you.
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Thinking of enlisting and I need guidance?
I'm gonna be graduating in the summer and originally planned on going to a 4 year college. I've gotten mostly waitlisted at almost all my colleges and might have to go to community college if I want to stay on that track. I live in a very affluent and rich area so the community college is good but I'm not sure if I want to go along with that and don't feel like taking a gap year.
I want to end up being a lawyer one day but I also want to be independent right now so say I hypothetically don't get off these waitlists, it's either CC or the military in my eyes. I only want to do 4 years because I still would have to attend undergrad and law school and I want to raise a family before I turn 35-ish. The army sounds the best to me because of the wide variety of jobs to choose from. The MOS 27D, paralegal specialist sounds pretty good as well.
I also want to live a full life and I understand that all the "jumping out of planes" and "shooting large guns" is mostly just a selling point, but it seems like enlisting in the Army is what makes these once in a lifetime experiences possible. There are so many benefits but at the same time, I would be re-entering civilian life and hopefully going into undergrad at 21, which seems crazy. I would be academically behind my peers by 4 years.
I'm really at one of the greatest cross roads of my life, does anyone have any advice, or have been in the position themselves? How is enlisting? What should I expect?
Thinking of enlisting, in need of guidance!
I'm gonna be graduating in the summer and originally planned on going to a 4 year college. I've gotten mostly waitlisted at almost all my colleges and might have to go to community college if I want to stay on that track. I live in a very affluent and rich area so the community college is good but I'm not sure if I want to go along with that and don't feel like taking a gap year.
I want to end up being a lawyer one day but I also want to be independent right now so say I hypothetically don't get off these waitlists, it's either CC or the military in my eyes. I only want to do 4 years because I still would have to attend undergrad and law school and I want to raise a family before I turn 35-ish. The army sounds the best to me because of the wide variety of jobs to choose from. The MOS 27D, paralegal specialist sounds pretty good as well.
I also want to live a full life and I understand that all the "jumping out of planes" and "shooting large guns" is mostly just a selling point, but it seems like enlisting in the Army is what makes these once in a lifetime experiences possible. There are so many benefits but at the same time, I would be re-entering civilian life and hopefully going into undergrad at 21, which seems crazy. I would be academically behind my peers by 4 years.
I'm really at one of the greatest cross roads of my life, does anyone have any advice, or have been in the position themselves? How is enlisting? What should I expect?
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Hello, I'm a recruit going in as a small arms repairman for the army. I am going to Fort Sill Oklahoma for basic training and then will be sent to Fort Campbell. In all of this, I am very confused as there is very little concrete discussion or evidence that I can find that tells me all the contact points I will be able to get with my loved ones. I know I can send and receive letters, but I don't know, how to go through that process, where if any i can acquire the materials to write the letters, and how soon I can expect to receive letters from my loves ones once I get in. I understand that at some point later in the training, to the drill sergeants discretion, that I will be able to gain access to my phone, but I haven't found concrete numbers as to how long and under what restrictions or if that is also to the drill sergeants mood and demeanor for the day. I also do not know how I will be able to get my address or other information to my loved ones so that they will be able to send letters to me or if there's a separate process for that as different in sending letters. I also do not realize much if any about how family day will work, under what restrictions, when it is, or how many can come.
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I realize this is a long, contrived, and possibly stupid list of questions. I also realize that I may sound quite dumb in asking them, but I am very close to my small circle of loved ones and would like to take any steps necessary to be as connected with them as possible while I am not there, which includes seeking all the information and resources I can on the matter, even if I'm an idiot for asking. Even just answering one of these questions would be a huge help and I would genuinely greatly appreciate it, thank you.
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So I’m graduating high school in May and for the longest time have been wanting to enlist in the military (every since i was little).
Now I’ve been thinking Navy (I love the ocean), but Army is starting to interest me more as I more than likely wont end up on a ship. The other reason for Navy is that the Navy recruiter seemed willing to help me as I will need waivers compared to the Army recruiter who didn’t seem interested.
I’m not in the best physical shape i will say, but i’m hoping to change that for when I can enlist. I do have a history of depression and anxiety which has been resolved. I’ve been off meds for 4 months for one, and 3 months for the other (i know i need to wait a year) I’m stable off of them. I know some people are gonna think i’m dumb for wanting to enlist due to past mental problems.
What’s your thoughts on army? is it worth it?
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Have been debating on "rejoining" the army again for some time now. (I say rejoining cause I went in 2017 when I turned 18 but quit due to Tiny Heart Syndrome) Anyway.
I am 25 now and have matured a lot over the past few years but something has always worried me about rejoining. A lot of the things I see not get answered is the niche stuff about the army. The weird almost stupid sounding questions. Where do I go when I get to my first unit? If I need to talk to an officer outside, do I stand at attention and talk to him, even if he keeps walking? Do I follow him? I'm Sure the questions I'm asking will be answered by someone close to graduation, but its anxiety I have about the weird niche questions.
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I guess my big question here is: Does it just come naturally after a while? Does it all just click and make sense at some point? I wanna feel like Ill eventually know what I'm doing and it will just become normal at some point. I don't wanna be the shitbag PVT who either doesn't make it or worse turns into a shitbag SGT eventually.
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Army Tattoo Question
Im a high schooler planning to do ROTC (shooting for a contract) then going active duty. Would you guys recommend just waiting to get tattoos until i’m in and contracts are signed just to be safe, or as long as I follow Army policy, I should be safe?
Anything to consider or anything i’d be automatically disqualified for with having those identifying marks on my body?
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I’ve enlisted already, leaving in July. Got MP for 5 years. I’ve got a couple of questions.

1. My training and boot camp are going to be combined (so 5 months). I know boot camp has a graduation, but since mine’s combined will I have one after trainings over? How will my living space be arranged? (I saw that some people going through AIT had more of a college dorm space.) Will it just be sorta like a switch from boot to AIT in the middle? Basically what’s different then just normal boot camp? (Other than length)
   
2. I’m going in as an E-3, are there certain things I should know more about? Will I be treated differently?
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I have tinnitus but my hearing is fine. Only thing that sorta worries me is boot camp at night. Is it completely quiet? Or is there a little noise. I think I will be ok but still is decently loud when it's completely quiet.
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Im about to turn 24 and have dreams of serving in the ranger regiment one day, however, i went through a break up almost 2 years ago that had really affected my mental health. It was a rather abusive relationship. My mother being a nurse practitioner really pressured me into seeing a doctor (not psychologist) about me being depressed. They prescribed me some anti anxiety medication that I never took. I'm actually rather against the practice of handing out medication like that to anyone off the street off of a 10 question worksheet. I found my stride again a couple months after that so needless to say, it's not a reoccurring issue. I'm wondering if this will disqualify me from joining up in a combat mos.
Tldr: doc said I was depressed, found my stride again and hasn't been a reoccurring issue. Will this disqualify me from a combat mos?
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I want to go into the Army after I finish high school and I plan on becoming an 11B or, if possible, try for 18 series. However, I am an only child and I have been told that I can't go into any combat roles. Is this true? If so, is there any way I can get around it with a waiver or something?
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Wondering which one is the current fitness test, ACFT or APFT?
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I failed my psych eval and Im wondering if anyone has any knowledge if l'm able to apply to another branch I was Appling to army and just got the word today that I failed and id be able to apply again next year is it possible 1 get a different evaluation from a different doctor or maybe I'd be able to apply to another branch and be able to be accepted I assume since I've been denied by the army I wouldn't qualify for any other branch but I'm not for sure does anyone know?
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Need some serious advice
Hey everyone, I'm in a bit of a pickle.
Its been a dream of mine to go into OCS and handle artillery, especially regarding laser weapons (Valkyrie comes to mind).
I've studied Physics and went into laser physics, currently working in a company as a manufacturing engineer (again working with high power pulsed lasers).
I'm 24 and my GPA is 2.7, from this point on I will list the problems. I can score 88 on the ASVAB btw
I've never lived in US despite being a US citizen. All my studies are abroad and I currently live in a country that allows me to do all the paperwork, contract included without leaving here. I'm already in talks with the recruiter and he said this wouldn't cause problems with clearance.
I have an ADHD diagnosis from 5 years ago, took ritalin for 2 years, been off for 26 months. This info doesn't show up in the records that I can reach. I also had an OCD diagnosis but that is completely off the books and I'm not medicated for it.
I know everyone is gonna tell me to be honest, but translating all the records, proving that I'm capable etc would be an herculean task and my dad (AF officer) as well as his friends are advising me to not mention it and just choose "no" on everything. They say that even with Genesis, they can't reach foreign records in that country.
I want to be honest, but I also want to accomplish my dreams without getting older. What would you do in my shoes?
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I will be leaving for boot camp in 2 weeks at Ft. Sill any tips? Also, my mos is 35G is this a good mos for post-military? How is promotion as a 35G and how is it day to day?
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Today I got the response that my moral waiver was approved. I want to do either 35L or 35M, I’m talking to a disciplinary counselor Tuesday. Has anyone with the experience got advice about the waiver for the 35L or 35M? Will I need one? If so whats the process? And what do I need to do?
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Was told by mod to post this here:
Yesterday I finished the last thing I needed to do in order to enlist (eye consult) at MEPS. I passed my exam & my recruiter said I should expect to enlist next Thursday/Friday. This has been a long time coming and I’m excited to start this new journey.
I’ve narrowed down the jobs I believe I would enjoy doing to 35L, 35F and 25B. I meet the requirements for all three but I’m genuinely having a tough time picking one. My goal after the Army is to do bigger picture law enforcement, and yesterday having spoke to many people in intelligence they said 35L would be the perfect MOS for me.
If I do go to MEPS next week to sign a contract I’m a bit worried they will try and fuck with me and try to persuade me to do something else. I plan on staying strong and not settling for anything else besides these three.
I guess what I’m asking is if anyone can give me insight to these three jobs, personal experience or things they’ve heard. Are these jobs hard to get? How is the quality of life? Are they interesting and fulfilling?
Is there a big difference between 35L & 35F?
Any insight is greatly appreciated! Thank you.
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Going to fort Eisenhower as a 25b wondering if I can volunteer for airborne while I’m there,and what would I have to do to get it?
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How do I volunteer for recruiting
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Hey all So I'm familiar with DEAR MAN / GIVE FAST stuff from DBT, but I was wondering if anyone had any go-to guides/worksheets/paramters for repairing conflict with a friend?
Basically my friend and I had a misunderstanding, they were a jerk to me, apologized, and after talking w/ my therapist I think I should explain why my feelings were hurt etc but I feel like I need some kind of guideline for getting my words together b/c I have a habit of babbling on / saying things in circles / missing points that are important etc
So basically wondering if any of you had any worksheets or info etc <3