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Hadassah Brenner

Things you learn as a combat soldier

Advanced Training Navigations, Jerusalem, 30k

1) You must always play the game.

2) You must always remind yourself that you are playing the game.

3) Don’t look back if you don’t want to trip over what’s coming next.

4) Don’t look down if you don’t want to pee your pants at how far you’ve climbed.

5) The dark is not something to fear, unless your commanders have it in for you.

6) Never underestimate your strength. When you think you can’t hold on any longer, that’s where the challenge starts.

7) The second you actually believe it, you can lift the mountain with your bare hands.

8) There is something after your breaking point and that something isn’t always bad… just most of the time.

9) Success is a ladder with broken rungs. Keep climbing, but watch your step.

10) Regret is an ugly monster. Lock it away and don’t ever feed it.

11) If you give up, you’ve lost the battle.

12) Sometimes it’s better to just go where the wind takes you- don’t fight the drift. Sometimes it’s better to dig your feet in the ground and refuse to budge until you’ve gotten what you’ve fought for.

13) Life isn’t a box of chocolates. If it were, it would be gone in an instant.

14) Some rules are meant to be broken. Some rules should never be broken. Intelligence is knowing the difference, and not getting caught.

About the Author
Hadassah Brenner is twenty years old and serves as a combat medic in the IDF. She grew up in a Jewish, modern-orthodox community and moved to Israel after she finished high school. Hadassah writes poetry, fiction, blog posts and essays when she's not too busy with her military duties. Her first work, a poetry and photography collection titled, The Warrior Princess Once Said, was published in July; it expresses her experience as a new immigrant and female combat solider.
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