Week 4 of Saving the World!

Nah I'm kidding. Haven't done anything major to save the world yet but I'm getting there. I still haven't been underway on a ship so I honestly don't know much about being out at sea. All I can really tell anyone is what the two types of ships are in my ship class and some damage control stuff. I'm literally useless to the Navy right now😂. I'll be something important in like a year.

But instead of saving the world, I'm learning how to save lives this week in class! Well, its first aid so I guess you can say if you really are in danger.....call a doctor. The Navy does have medical personnel and there are enlisted individuals that act as medical on the smaller ships called corpsman. If you never heard of what that is they are basically the go to guys before you see a nurse or doctor. The class was also taught by corpsman. In a case that your corpsman is not around in a casualty on your ship, you are there to learn how to help someone until help comes. Whether its someone who bumps their head and passes out to an individual that may lose a limb. This class gave us scenarios of what we don't want to see. I got to be a test dummy for a scenario if my stomach got punctured and my intestines started pouring out. They had all types of props, including an intestine piece where they wrapped around my stomach. The sailors learned how to properly wrap someone up if this were to ever happen. At the end of my class everyone tested out to become CPR AED qualified. So I can technically save a life in the real world for 2 years until my car expires.

Free Days During My Week

Being that the first aid course was only 3 days long I got Thursday and Friday to myself. I wasn't lazy this time either. One big stepping stone was that I started working on some quals from my PQS binder. I really want to get my SWO pin by sometime next year while I'm still the only Ensign with my crew. Along with working on quals I like to visit and say hello to the black Lieutenant in the office (the lady who invited me to the mentoring event) she's really nice and I ask for advice. Not sure if she was specifically thinking of the new Ensign or just was in the giving mood, but she gave me girl scout cookies! On top of that they were samoas, I love samoas! A win is a win, and free girl scout cookies will always be a win in my book. With all things great and cool I got to meet with my CO to pickup the ball cap for my ship. My ship doesn't exist yet in the world thats why I don't bother mentioning it too much. Along with winning I have hit my 1 month mark of moving to California!

One Housewarming to Remember 

I'm new to this adult life so being invited to a housewarming party is pretty cool. A guy who graduated from my unit about 2 years before I did invited me to his housewarming. We didn't talk much during ROTC but he was pretty cool from what I did know of him. Plus he works in a field that I am very interested in. I go to the event and actually had a blast. Met a good amount of nurses, a surgeon, a PA, and even a talk show host. Its all about networking, you never know who you may meet that can help you get to other destinations. I was the only SWO there too so it was a really different vibe than hanging with the other SWOs. The medical side is more laid back and seems like they enjoy their jobs, and know how to have fun. 

Now when the party starts winding down, we hit some bars downtown. Now the first time I went to a bar downtown I really didn't care for it but this time was different. Could have been the music or just the people I went with were not that fun. But these nurses know how to have a good time! I'm more of a dark alcohol type of girl but the first bar we went to did not have what I wanted. I told the girl to order me something good and her eyes lit up. She gives my this clear drink and says its a Vodka water, and lemon. I usually don't trust white alcohol unless its in a mixed fruity drink so now I'm worried. All the other nurses had it and told me it was low in calories😅. Never knew people actually paid attention to calorie intake while drinking but the drink was not bad.

Next bar we went to was completely different, it was actually under a restaurant and the entrance is pretty trippy if you had too much to drink. But this place was one for the books and they served the alcohol that I liked. The music was good and I enjoyed myself the entire time. The more I do things out of my usual comfort zone I find something new that I really enjoy. Never thought I would have so much fun with strangers that I met that same night.

Sunday Hike

For those who wonder what Southern California has to offer just know there are a ton of outdoor activities. I like hiking, it's not too hard and you get some amazing views when you reach the top. I took a solo hike on Cowles Mountain. I came equipped this time with my water and music.This hike was not super easy due to it being majority rocks. Going uphill was simple but coming down was a true thinking adventure. The same rocks you used to climb up the mountain were not a good choice to use when you began your hike down towards the ground. I plan to take more hikes and if this does become a real hobby of mine I'll make sure to invest in those fancy hiking boots so that my feet are properly protected. Once my wonderful hike was over I got to enjoy the Super Bowl and watch what I thought was going to be an epic game turn into a major upset for all viewers across the country.

What Do I Want?

Well, I want a lot of things. How many 22 year olds can say the day they graduated they started a salary paying job with great benefits? Not many people can say that and I know I need to take every advantage possible of the opportunity I have been given. Now I have been doing everything the Navy wants from me but what am I doing for myself? I can be honest and say I haven't been doing much but that will change.

In my last post, my free week I was absolutely lazy. There was no reason I should have been that lazy. Literally had nothing to do smh. My daily routine was show up to muster, go home make breakfast, and go back to sleep. That week was just me being a couch potato. If it wasn't for that mentoring event at the end of that week I probably would be doing the same thing on my free days. Sometimes it takes words from people in places that you want to be to change how you are acting now.

But in all honesty I want to be successful in all aspects of my life. Gotta stop putting things to the side for later and do more with my day. Some things I want to accomplish while I'm not working might be the cliche "New Years Resolution" goals.

• Workout more (Summertime Fine 365)😎
• Explore more (hiking/nature trails/local events)
• Make more civilian friends (tell me how you hate your job)
• Make a food bucket list (I looooovvvvveee food)
• Dance Classes
• Read more books
• Yoga (find my inner zen)
• Rosetta Stone (never to late to learn another language)

The list can go on for days but I have to be able to take that step into doing what I want for myself along with meeting the needs of my job.

Well enough of my soap box lol. There is always room for improvement no matter how successful you are. What are you doing to reach your goals?

My First Free Week (No School)

The last time I actually had a "free week" was when I first reported into my command but I still had work to do. This week is actually a free week. All I really had to do was show up for muster at 7:30 or 9:30 on certain days and the rest of the day was mine. Pretty cool, right? Well, with that being said I really didn't do much of anything once I was done with muster which would last for about 10 minutes. My main goal that I had but failed daily was to go to the Pass and ID place and get my ID card fixed so I could be able to use the computers. On the brighter side of things I got the one thing that will help me be successful in my career. My Personnel Qualification Standards (PQS) binder, this binder contains every qualification that I need to complete to become a true Surface Warfare Officer. What I mean by a "true" Surface Warfare Officer is getting my warfare pin, without it I'm just another Ensign. To explain the importance of a warfare pin it is not only my community pin but it also means that I know everything that I need to know about Navy ships, their systems, safety, and I can drive the vessel without crashing and not needing instructions on how to do so. 

With it also being my free week and I didn't have much to do I actually got to go into the simulator to see how my future ship works. Instead of going to muster I went to a different building with my crew and got some simulator time. The building I had to go to was really neat and secure (no phones past the front desk). We had a cool access method too, kinda like in all those movies with corporate buildings, scan your card and the doors open. The first day I was just a bystander and just tried to grasp how I will actually understand how all these screens, diagrams, and buttons work. The next day my sponsor let me drive the ship! I did pretty good for a first time driver lol I didn't crash and even got to "park" it. I learned a little about how to read the charts but it was just so much to take in. Later in my training track I will have more than enough understanding on what all the functions mean and how to successfully drive and park my ship.

Neo Soul Tuesday

The title should say it all but I'll explain a little more. One of my friends who is also in the Navy does a lot of spoken word and invited me and some other people to watch her perform at this event. It gave me the jazz club vibe with the live band and the soft sounds. I've always wanted to go to a place like this while I was in college but it never happened so I can check this off my bucket list. Now when my friend performed I forgot that poets and musicians go by completely different names so when they called her we all had a shocked look at her stage name lol. It was nothing crazy but were just weren't expecting it. I must say when she did her piece she SNAPPED! But then again she was in this organization called Voices at FAMU and all those members do great when they perform. And to mention FAMU I can say this was like a little FAMU Alumna/ Naval Officer girls night out. Nonetheless I enjoyed myself and plan to go again in the future. 

Gleam of Light

Now remember I did say that this blog would contain my experiences as an African American Officer in the military. Well, yes there is a big difference (I'm the only African American female officer in this training track right now) but I haven't experienced anything crazy...yet. This other black officer that works in the office invited my to a program the her organization was having. I went to support but she also took time out to even tell me. When I got there my uncertainty was immediately cleared up. There are tons of officers that look like me! And on top of that they are in the higher up positions and a lot were women. The reason why I mention that is because I don't see many officers that look like me past the O3 (Lieutenant) rank which is sometimes discouraging and then them actually being a woman is lower. One of the speakers that caught my eye was not only in the field that I was interested in, she was black, a FAMU alumna, AND just got selected to become a Captain (O6). The mentoring event was one that I am truly glad I went to but I was able to talk to different officers in higher ranking positions and able to get great advice from  all of them. I was even able to get really good advice from an Admiral! I would have never thought that I would be talking to an Admiral after a few weeks of working in the Navy unless I did something really bad to get kicked out. After the mentoring event was over I made sure to talk to the Captain that graduated from FAMU and other officers. All of them were very nice, gave good advice, and I was able to get some business cards for future references and questions on my career choices. Sometimes you have to do things that are completely different to get results that you want.

As for my weekend, there wasn't much planned so I was just relaxing. Topped off my weekend with going to church and having brunch with most African American officers (about 10) that went to the same church. It just made me think back to that mentoring event I went to earlier that week. Navy melanin, majority HBCU grads, and everyone just coming together to have a good time. You can't beat an experience like this.