Recently Pinned LTJG Suffers from “Post-pin Clarity”

You just explode with feeling the when you get that pin on your chest. That initial rush of getting pinned spreads uncontrollably from one spot to the rest of your body, and suddenly you feel close to blacking out. You lose control of your legs, and your heart feels like it is beating so hard it’s going to collapse on itself and  make your chest explode.

Then, it’s over. It was supposed to be a satisfying completion, but now you feel viscerally empty inside. You vaguely hear the applause of the wardroom, maybe even a whisper about how well you did, but somehow you feel worse now than you did before you pinned. Stress and regret replaced lust and desire. You can’t understand why you spent so long yearning for something so fleeting. You look down at your chest and see the product of two years of hard work summed up in maybe a 40 second process. The shame is overwhelming, and part of you wishes you hadn’t pinned at all because now you don’t have anything to lust after. Thank God the lights were off when you got pinned, because you couldn’t make eye contact with another human at that moment.

At press time, you still missed your slate and your pin doesn’t matter. Your CO is pinning someone else now, reminding you how a life changing experience for you is just routine for someone else.