After six years in the Army, two deployments, countless hours of training and enough “character-building” moments to fill a memoir, I thought I knew what culture shock felt like. Turns out, I had no clue.
Nothing, and I mean nothing, prepared me for the moment I walked onto campus after serving in the military and realized I’ve entered a universe where deadlines feel like a suggestion, half the students are chronically late and people complain about a 8 a.m. class like it’s a war crime.
UCCS has one of the largest military-affiliated student populations across U.S. , but we almost never talk about what that transition entails. The shift from the rigid-but-weirdly-fun world of the military to the choose-your-own-adventure chaos of college feels more like reintegration than a simple adjustment.
What follows isn’t a complaint so-to-speak, but an honest look at the strengths, the struggles, the awkwardness and the unexpected that comes with being a college student after having already lived a whole other life.
The perspective switch no one warns you about
Walking into a classroom full of 18-year-olds at age 24 is … surreal. I mean technically speaking, we’re not that far apart in age. On paper, we could’ve been in high school together (give or take two years). That said, life experience has had a way of aging you in dog years.
Every time I hear my classmates say they’re stressed about the two exams they have due at the end of the week, I unintentionally flashback to the 3-hour round of 7-minute changing drills and “corrective action” — which may or may not have led me to lose a pound or two overnight — my platoon had to endure for the girl on crutches who was late to formation.
Yes, college is stressful, and I’m not trying to negate that fact. But not using my real name for two years overseas to ensure the safety of my family and friends has given me a completely new threshold.
Sometimes, I just sit there wondering how these two versions of adulthood can exist simultaneously, let alone on the same planet. It’s like growing up in a world most people don’t see and suddenly realizing I’ve lived something that changes the way I’ve interpreted everything else around me.
Sometimes it feels a bit easier to try and sweep the sun off the sidewalk — if you know, you know — than to ask for a deadline extension.
Military schools vs. college: a study in extremes
Now, the military does in fact have schooling of their own, but unlike college, schools in the military are more akin to academic boot camp.
I had anywhere between a few days to a matter of hours to learn everything about a subject, only to have to retain that information immediately and be prepared to teach it on the fly. Oh, and forgetting it could hypothetically mean the difference between life or death in the long run.
When it comes to college as a communication major, professors hand me 20-page syllabi to have me spend 16 weeks on a subject. Weeks! I had less than an hour to learn the Swiss seat knotting technique in under 90 seconds before rappelling off a 35-foot tower. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to be able to breathe when learning something new, but at the same time, it can feel like a glacial pace.
As a military police officer (MP), I had to learn Uniformed Code of Military Justice law, jurisdiction, posse comitatus, use of force procedures, rules of engagement, lawful search procedures, report and statement writing, takedowns, Taser and OC (had to be done to me before deploying it on someone else, 10 out of 10 don’t recommend), weapons, handcuffing procedures and so much more. All in just 10 weeks!
It’s a strikingly wild difference that sets the tone for the unexpected challenges of coming back to civilian life. But hey, at least my shoes never get untied, and I can exit a helicopter in more ways than one.
The culture shock no one talks about
For all its structure, I see the military as one of the most unexpectedly fun environments a person can be thrown into. Not “tailgating” fun — more like “we voluntarily signed up to suffer through the most ridiculous, unnecessary things together, and it’s hilarious” type of fun.
Building a Christmas tree overseas out of Monster Energy drink cans and Taser cartridges. Extracting my soldier out of C-wire during a simulated night raid. Getting chased by a rabid lizard about the size of a dachshund because it wants my Chili Mac MRE. There’s nothing like it in college life.
College friendships just don’t form the same way, at least in my experience. Non-military students I’ve encountered tend not to bond over the same level of shared misery — which may or may not be a good thing, depending on how you look at it.
So yes, I can see why veterans in college like myself tend to miss the military. Not any of the stress or bureaucracy necessarily, and definitely not the 4:30 a.m. wakeups. But the camaraderie? The instant sense of belonging? The people I’ve met at the beginning of a day who had become like siblings by the time the lights went out? Yeah, that part stays with me.
The upside of serving before you study
Serving in the military before attending college gave me a kind of built-in filter that I feel that the majority of students straight out of high school don’t have yet — through no fault of their own.
I gained the ability to learn fast and adapt even quicker. I don’t let myself fall apart over a bad grade because when I think back to being screamed at for not putting my food to the bowl, a professor’s feedback doesn’t register quite as harshly.
And honestly, there’s something to be said about doing life out of order. I’ve learned to appreciate opportunity more and waste less time worrying about the fleeting disappointments life tends to bring. I’ve realized — of all the things I’ve survived — that Sunday night discussion post is not the hill I’m dying on.
The military’s fast pace shaped me into the person that I am, and college slowed me down just enough to notice the person I have become. The transition isn’t easy, but it’s worth it — and after everything I’ve gone through during my time in service, a little culture shock isn’t going to scare me off.
The El Pomar center. Photo by Josiah Dolan.