Finish line

VIEWPOINT OF A TEXAS CHALLENGE ACADEMY CADET

It’s finally week eighteen here at Texas ChalleNGe Academy, and we have only four more weeks to go until we graduate. We are all looking forward to P-Rap Home Pass.

By the time you are reading this, we will have been home for five days. During PRap, we have the opportunity to acclimate to time back at home and complete some of our graduation requirements.

We have made it through acclimation, Family Day, and both of our mentor days. We have had good days, bad days and all kinds of days in between. We have had to rely on each other, our cadre and our teachers to get through these past weeks.

Not all of us have made it through the 18 weeks. We started with 140 cadets and we are now down to 112.

When I first came, I didn’t think I would be one that made it to the end, but here I am. We may say that we hate this place and we are never going to wear a uniform again or get our haircuts, but for me it’s going to be different.

I will remember what I have learned here and will take it back with me when I go home. TCA has given me more confidence and a new outlook on life.

When I leave for PRAP, I’m going to do service to community at a feed store, and when I leave here, I will get a job there. It will be my first job since day zero and I am looking forward to it. I will miss TCA but am thankful for the opportunities I have been given.