Today was my first of two days at MEPS (Military Enlistment Processing Station), and it was an interesting experience. I am writing this recap at around 7PM, 3 hours after getting back home from MEPS. I got a small taste of what it was like to be in the military while doing some testing there today, and I have a feeling I will get more of a taste tomorrow as I will be there for around 12 hours. The process of testing today took me about 2 hours but it was a bit nerve wrecking and hectic. I know I will be getting some great sleep tonight, which is nice because I will need to be up early tomorrow. The following is a run down of how the process went and how I will prepare for my bigger day tomorrow. ...

I have two more days ahead of me before I head to MEPS in order to verify my PiCAT (Online ASVAB), get checked out by the doctors, and if all goes smoothly, enlist for the Navy as a Cyber Warfare Technician or IT. As the day approaches the reality of the situation becomes more present in my daily life. I am in my mid 30’s, working as a bicycle mechanic for the last decade. I was in a long-term relationship, nearly 10 years, that just ended and I am feeling like I need to take on some new challenges to begin this new chapter in my life. Since I am older and probably a lot more mature than most of the people coming to MEPS as hopefully recruits I feel a bit more prepared for this event, which makes some of the advice I read online not targeted toward me as it is mostly telling people to expect to have to take orders and be bored while waiting for things to happen. ...