It is a story of what occurred for 3 years, so it is quite condensed, but I think that  demicoeur captured it absolutely perfectly.

Some of you may well know that I've had a lot to overcome to get into the profession I have. The military is not tolerant, at all, of people who even look overweight, much less those that are. And when I first attempted to get in, I was morbidly obese, with a BMI of 46 at the age of 20, I spent my youth on the fast track to death by over eating. Then, I had this funny idea, I decided I wanted to join the military.

With my mind set on doing this, I went, rather blindly, off to a military school, and while I knew there would be yelling, and I'd have to do push ups and all the stereotypes that exist in initial military life, I was pretty surprised at some of the ingredients that came along with it after the formalities of in processing ended...

What I found particularly shocking was the sheer contempt I received. Whether it be from military cadre, from the senior cadets, from my peers, and many others. I was seen as unworthy, as a blemish to the organization, and many there, if not most, were all too happy to voice that opinion. It was acceptable. With the exception of 2 people, the contempt I received, was universal. Because of this, the achievement of getting my commission after 3 years were pretty much through my effort and determination alone, as none even wished to help me find a way to overcome this obesity obstacle, neither in instructing me how to eat better nor on how to improve work out technique. No one, but my stubborn ass, pushed for my own success. Pretty well the only thing I'd receive were the insults. If you can imagine it, I've likely heard it sent my way, and I've even heard some particularly creative things said by folks who'd been in for a minute (which are a bit more amusing years and years later). Yet even when I had lost much of the weight, the contempt did not go away. Even when I did not quit because I had to repeat an entire year of school again, simply because I had not lost enough weight the first year, little regard was given to that effort. I was still seen by most as the enormous kid whose flab was spilling over the uniform he wore because there was barely a size in existence that he could fit in.

Yet, in spite all of that, I did learn to turn that contempt into fuel, to feed my determination to succeed. The results have yielded their own rewards. One of the first being when I finally made it to I met all the requirements to get in and be commissioned, one of the Sergeants, who was also our principal physical trainer and daily saw the ugliness that was my attempts to do PT for a long time, had at first sincerely expressed his doubts that I could make it. In my first couple of weeks there he recommended that I try and find another path and try and save some money (one of the very few who showed at least a small level of respect in their doubts). Later on, however, he also approached me to congratulate me and tell me, "well done man, you're one of the few officers who has genuinely earned everything he's got". That moment alone was one that made the whole struggle worth it, for if you know anything about NCOs, particular E-8s, getting praise from them is like squeezing water from a stone.

This experience has certainly left its scars on me, mostly of the "mental" and "emotional kind" (as example, I still maintain an extremely poor body image, regardless of how in shape I may be), but nevertheless it not an experience I would trade for anything, and in fact, would likely do again if necessary, for as bad as it was at the time, those 3 years also forged me into who I am today, and much of the strength that I have today would not be there if I'd not undergone such a level of personal suffering.

V/R,
Cap Mag.