My Personal View

As for me, I come from a family that all served. I already knew a lot of what would happen to me in basic by hearing it from my family members. I heard about folding your clothes precisely, and cleaning the bathroom floor with a toothbrush. I knew to stare straight ahead and not look the drill instructor in the eyes. I thought I was a bit more prepared than most. I was wrong! Yes, it helped me to know these things in advance. I'm sure it saved me some heartache. But I was not prepared for the intensity of the program. I was not prepared to take grief the second I stepped off the bus. I thought I would be ready for the time when the DI got right into my face. But the way they do it, and the pressure they put on you, is unique to that environment. The first time it happened, and he was nose-to-nose with me, was very unsettling. His "smoky bear" hat brim was hitting me in the forehead. Yes, they are that close! My first reaction was to tell him to get out of my face, but the tone and the setting keep you from doing that. It's very intimidating. You are thrown into an environment that "they" are the masters of, which makes you unsure and hesitant. As I said, it is done on purpose to throw you off balance. You are fed a very heavy dose of discipline immediately, and you are "put in your place" right away. You are a "nothing" that has to be transformed into a "something".
In basic training, there is no place for race, hatred, bigotry, etc.. You are all the same to them. Tall, short, big, small, and every kind. You are all dressed exactly the same, you are treated exactly the same, and you are trained exactly the same. Everyone becomes even! Rich or poor, it doesn't matter. You are being trained to join the family of military people around the world.
I did pretty well overall in basic.  I kept my mouth shut, my eyes and ears open, and jumped when they yelled. My duty (everybody gets one), was laundry "queen". That's what they called us. We had to wash everybody's socks t-shirts, and undies. And we were even monitored doing that.
My only scare came in the very last week of training. We were already looking forward to graduating, and getting the hell out of there. We were walking back from chow hall duty two at a time. My"buddy" kept talking to me as we walked. That is not allowed. I kept telling him to shut up. Well, you can guess what happened. A DI driving by heard him talking, got out and stopped us, and started to yell. We were threatened with getting "washed back" for two weeks for more training. OH, hell!  Luckily it didnt happen and I got out of there ok. But I still remember that to this day, many, many years later. That is how much the training affects you for your entire life.