Hey girls, sorry I didn't jump in on this till now.
As far as hair goes, I would really advise against cutting it. If it's a little longer (within reason), it's much easier to keep out of your face. All of the girls in my squad who cut their hair had a much harder time with it in basic. It gets really windy up here so it was always blowing in their faces and then when we had to do anything physical, hair was always in their eyes. MUCH easier to just put it in a tight bun at the nape of your neck. That takes little to no time in the morning and if you hairspray it down, it will last all day. Also, french braids work really well. If you wash your hair in the sink at night after TAPS (you won't really have time to wash your hair well during the 1 to 2 minute showers) and then quickly french braid it and then knot the two braids into a tight bun, that will also stay in really well. I always did my hair and my roommate's hair that way at night during first beast, and it only took me maybe 15 minutes to do it for both of us. The main reason why girls cut their hair is because they think it's a lot easier to have it short, but TRUST ME, it's NOT. If you haven't cut your hair yet, then please please please don't. COME TO INPROCESSING WITH YOUR HAIR IN REGS. I didn’t, and I got shuffled into this room with really mean upperclassmen girls screaming at me and taunting me for wanting to keep my hair. Then they all stand around you and yell at you and give you 30 seconds to get your hair in a perfect bun at the nape of your neck. Honestly, no one can do that, and chances are you will get stuck in line for a haircut. As long as you plan well the night before, time should never be an issue with your hair. When reveille goes off in the morning, you should basically be ready to fall out in the hallway, and if you do your hair at night, it will never be a problem. Just make sure you're never one of those girls who leisurely takes their time with hair, showering, etc. during basic... there's no extra time for primping. If you want to shave or something like that, do it in your room at the sink after TAPS. What really bugged a lot of us is that there would be girls who would go way over their 2 minutes because they were busy shaving, which meant that we only got to take 30 second showers. In hindsight it's not really that big of a deal, but as long as you remember to be considerate of others and realize that nothing in basic is about you, then you'll be on your way to really learning what it's all about... being a TEAM and relying on your classmates and being the kind of person that they can rely on too.
You'll be issued ibuprofen and stuff like that... Some girls didn't even get their period at all during basic because of the drastic change in physical demands and the stress in general that basic puts on your body. Yes, bring tampons. You won’t get issued them, but if you run out you can always ask the cadre for some or borrow from the girls in your squad. I’ll warn you ahead of time… don’t try and hide any contraband in your tampon boxes. A couple of girls in my class tried to do that. I guess one hid her cell phone in there. Dumb idea.
I brought a pair of tweezers and a really small pair of scissors that they let me keep, and I recommend you do the same because honestly it’s kind of nice to spend two minutes with all the girls in your squad doing your eyebrows. It might sound kind of silly, but all the girls loved me for having a pair of tweezers and it was good bonding time where we pretended to be normal for a couple of minutes.
Girls have to bring their own bras and underwear to basic. They tell you to bring 12 pairs of underwear and 8 sports bras. I would bring like 15 of each though, because in Jack’s everything gets super dirty super fast and they’re terrible about getting your laundry back to you quickly out there, so having some extra is helpful. Also everyone will love you if they’re totally out of bras and you have extras, and I can pretty much guarantee you it will happen. I know it sucks, but you have to stick with white granny panties for basic. Victoria’s Secret has to wait for after Acceptance Day. So… tell your mom to have a care package of normal underwear coming your way right after basic! It’s the nicest feeling to wear what you want and kind of get to be a girl again.
Makeup… I’m a girl and girls wear makeup so naturally I wore makeup on inprocessing day, which apparently is bad. You’ll get teased for it, but then again you’ll get teased no matter what, so I say what the heck. After basic, makeup is perfectly acceptable. I started wearing it again as soon as I could. Don’t let this place turn you into someone that you’re not. You can still be a girl even though you’re in uniform! Some girls get here and stop caring and don’t take care of themselves. Please don’t do that.
Alright, I think I’ve written a mini novel, but please feel free to ask more questions! I’ll be happy to answer. If it’s something you don’t want to ask on here, just message me and I’ll give you the low down.
