How to get through Marine corps boot camp

I've been in the Marine Corps for a little over two and a half years now so I'm speaking from experience. I've had so many people from my hometown or just people I know that wanted to join the marines ask me how boot camp is and how hard it is. Here is a little advice that I think will help you understand what boot camp will be like.

Ok here’s probably the most important thing you will need to know about what to expect from boot camp. Anything else after this is just good advice for the little things. You ARE going to get yelled at yes but it’s not as bad as it looks on TV or anything. Everyone goes in thinking it is going to be the hardest thing in the world but honestly it’s not. Really they just mess with your head. When I went through boot camp I thought for sure I was going to get ran to the dirt but it really wasn’t all that physical. I mean I'm a pretty fit guy but even if I wasn’t there were guys in with me that were in far less of shape than me. It's really the mental part of it. Not being able to talk to your family and friends for three months is pretty hard on some people. It's not the easiest thing to go from seeing whoever you want to being with a bunch of people you've never seen before and having to live with them and only them. That was probably one of the hardest things for me considering I was a "Social Butterfly" as my mom likes to call me. The other factor that really gets to people is the fact that they have to do exactly what someone says down to the "T" without back talking or asking why. No other job in the world can treat you like the Marine Corps so yea it's a little tough to get used too. All in all if you want to get through you will get through. You'll get to boot camp all nervous and scared and before you know it you’ll be on your way home a marine and you’ll look back and same "man where did the time go." You'll also notice that people will start asking you the same exact questions that I get like "how hard is it" or "Do they beat you up" and things like that. You can only think back and laugh when they ask you these questions because you'll remember that you were once there but now you understand. I personally thought boot camp was the easiest part of the Marine Corps because you always know exactly what to do. So don’t be scared, boot camp is just the beginning... wait for your first combat deployment it'll be a doozy if you’re afraid of boot camp.

Time         Activity             Description 

5:00AM     Wake-up          Wake up and perform personal morning tasks. For males, shaving is mandatory every morning.

5:10AM      Fall-in              Line up in company area, perform morning physical training (calisthenics and running).

6:30AM      Morning chow

8:30AM      Training           Begin the day's scheduled training exercises.

12:00PM     Noon chow

1:00PM       Training           Continue the day's scheduled training exercises.

5:00PM       Evening chow

6:00PM       Drill instructor time Time for drill instructors to talk to the recruits about any subject they may think requires attention. Mail call is also performed during this time.

8:30PM       Personal time Time for recruits to engage in personal activities, such as writing letters, working out, doing laundry, or shaving.
Recruits may also catch up on platoon duties during this time, such as barracks cleaning or boot shining.

9:30PM        Lights-out       Time for recruits to sleep.