Now although this program trained you for 8 hours every Saturday and Sunday for 7 weeks then they give you a PT test (physical training) to see if you can advised to the next stage of the program as a devil pups. Well we trained for this day. We did a 10 mile run each day and pushed our bodies to the max or pass our max point. So we all made it and wow I loved the pain, sweat, and the beat of my heart beat like crazy from the runs.

Now that was the only fun part about that program the rest was very hard or sometimes fun. We had to do planks and the instructor said.
“Well it looks like there’s going to be a 30%chance of rain today pup’s”.
(And at this time we were laying with our elbows and feet only touching the ground. Then once he said that line (now each time the chance of rain changed) we all knew we had to get up fast and grab a big full handful of sand and when he said.
“Well it looks like it’s starting to rain”.

We had to throw the sand up as high as we can and let it hit us on the way down, and we couldn’t dust ourselves off or anything. So after we throw the sand up we would get back in the plank formation and stay there even if we couldn’t hold the position any longer the instructors manage to get us to hold it and you can hear the pain from the group of us as the sand of rock started to give pain to us. For my friend and me it felt like someone was trying to beg into our arms and each second that went by, the more the pain got. But after a while the pain went away and the numbness came in.

That was one the second day of the program that lasted 7 weeks but only on Saturday’s and Sunday’s. if you pass the PT test you go to Camp Pendleton and get to be there for ten days and each day they treat you like a marine but not as hard and you go throw what the military is like within ten days. And OOOoooo man was I very happy. I only heard about the base but never been there so that day when it was time to travel there my mom’s last words before I got on the bus leave there was.
“I hope you learn if you like it or not and I hope you become a better person not only for me or you but for the whole world”.

Now that was something I thought I would never happen but it did and I’m glad it happen.

Now the day when I stepped on the drill pad at Camp Pendleton is the day my life went from relax a little and start acting like a marine. Now a good looking marine they say is someone with little to no hair, clean shave, nails cut, and your uniform as clean as a new shirt out of the washer. But when I got onto my formation with about 100 other’s like me or worst I was thinking it’s as easy well that thought soon skipped my mind after that first hair cut they give you. It was a line that was so long it tokes about an hour just to get my hair cut. It was watching one kid walk in the 1 min later you see him walk outside with little to no hair on him. Now the funny part was when it hit my turn I didn’t have that long of hair but one kid had a lot of hair. It looked like it can be 5feet long. But once you hear that cuter start all that hair goes by. As each person got their hair cut a person with a video camera would record it happening and man that made one kid freak out. He started yelling and screaming that you could hear it like half a mile away, I thought to myself.
“O great and he’s in my formation”.
I was wrong about judging him too soon because the next day he helped me out on something I had trouble with and I was glad he was there and we became friends after that day.

The next morning we got up at five am to start our morning PT (physical training) workout. You never knew you can start sweating and feel tried so fast then doing PT early in the day. Soon after it was time for breakfast and you can choose between, cereal, egg’s and bread, and pancakes. I got me 5 pancakes and o boy just the smell alone makes you die and go to heaven, and once you pour the syrup and watch it drizzle onto each layer of the stack. And the steam flows up to your noise and each breath it was like you where in heaven. And within just a few seconds as you sit down the smell from all the food fills the building and everyone is having fun and enjoying their nice breakfast. But that all ended when Gunny SGT walked in and gave us orders to pick our bags because we are going on a 20 mile walk. Now there’s 300+ pups as we were called all get up at once and run to our bed’s and start packing a bag that weighed about 55lbs after it was full. One kid you can tell couldn’t carry his so I helped him lighten his load so my weighed about 85lbs, which for me isn’t bad.

So as we walked on this forest covered road in formation all you hear is “left” “left” “left right left” and all our feet hitting the ground at once. It was like drums going off and some people started to sing and make up things as this was going on and soon everyone of us pup’s were singing a made up song and it was awesome, and after we hit the 10 mile mark almost about 1/4th of us couldn’t walk no more but you can tell the ones who didn’t show pain were fit. Now in my formation we only lost 5 pups and the rest where ok so we keap on going. But we left one person with anyone who fell behind so they make sure they are ok and get treatment. Now that day a lot of us had to go to the bathroom a lot of times from drinking a lot of water which in everyone’s mind is a good sign of a healthy body.

The 75 foot tower was the most exhilarating but scariest thing anyone has ever done. As you climb up three sets of stairs and each level you climb up you get higher and higher up in the air. As you keep going up and up and up your arms start to feel weak and you get tried as your body starts too tried out. But when you reach the top of the tower, you see an instructor telling each pup how to jump off without getting hurt.
“ Ok now look out into the horizon and keep your eyes open tell you’re about to hit the water , close your eyes’ tight, when take a step off and keep your toe’s pointed down and your hands across your chest and keep your legs closed”
Now it was my turn, I was looking like I wasn’t scared until I walked up to the end of the tower and look down (which is something you should never do).that’s when I got so scared I was about to back down till I got pushed off the tower . Now the view I saw before I hit the cool, cold water. Was the sun shining over the tree tops, and then I look down to see how high I was and when I did that I lost my balance tell the ever end before I hit the water. (Now this whole time everything seem so slow but I was going 20feet per second).now I forgot to close my eyes at the 5 second mark before hitting the water so I saw the water hit my feet and rush like a bull running at you. Then I closed my eyes and the bedridden release into my body and I wanted to do it again and again but we couldn’t.
The part that scared everyone was when this kid who was so scared of heights went off. He freaked out and didn’t go into the water right and hit the side of the pool with his leg and broke every bone in his leg. We didn’t know what he broke till we got him out of the water. But once he hit the water everyone (about 1000+ pups and instructors jumped into the water to save his life. It was like a hundred horses crossing a river all at once to get to food in a hurry. But the rest of the day went better and better and then night time came along and we went to sleep

Now the other day’s it was a little this a little that nothing really fun or interesting tell it hit the 3rd to last day up there. We had to climb a mountain named grim reaper. It lived up to its name because once you hit the 5k mark you had a 1,000 yard, 65 degree up hell you had to go up. It was so steep that if you stood up you would be on your hands and feet going up it the whole way. But knowing me I raced and I won but not by much. But when we all gather at the top of the mountain we all saw about ten crosses in the ground from the soldiers who died trying to get up the hill. That was the scary and sad part of the program. But as the sun started to slowly die down behind the mountain’s we started to sing the marine hymn and we got our coins. Then an hour once it hit dark time we started our match back to base which was 15 miles away

Now the next two days before we all passed the program we started to practices the matching route for the ceremony. We spent about 5 hours on that alone before we had lunch. And lunch was the best thing ever because the whole time they had us on a strong food lay off and only could have water. This time they let us eat whatever and drink whatever because the next morning we would all transform from the name “DIVIL PUPS” to “DIVIL DOGS” and for all of us it was a big deal. Maybe not to others but the whole summer doing marine stuff was fun and a life changing event.
Now thinking back to then I wish I could go back in time and do it over and over again because it was a very big change to my life in all ways. And I’m very glad I made that chose and I thank my friend and family for the support. Now I’m in the marine’s and I go to boot camp on May30th and come back home on AUG 3rd then school on the 5th.but if anything went the way I like it I would say this was the best thing in my life .And the best memory was the 75foot tower jump into water. Trust me if you where scared of water try it 75ft high but the only way to get down was to jump into my water. Now I’m glad I choose to do this program because it change my life around for good