Being an Army brat has always been a journey. Most of my life, my dad was gone making sure our country was safe for me and my two sisters. And he did an amazing job at it. Thankfully, he's retiring soon and that lifestyle will be in the books forever. Here's a list of 27 things I found to be true of life as a military brat.
1.You become resilient.
2. Moving every three years is just part of your life.
3. You get used to having one parent for most of your life.
4. “Where are you from” is the hardest question you’ll ever be asked.
5. When you were younger, you had at least one flight suit costume.
6. Camo is probably your least favorite color.
7. You know zulu time like the back of your hand.
8. Getting your military ID was the biggest day of your life.
9. Losing your military ID is also your biggest fear.
10. You can count your list of schools on two hands (or more).
11. Same with duty stations.
12. Being the new kid is basically your identity.
13. You get attached to your parent's dog tags.
14. You also live for video chats or phone calls when your soldier is deployed.
15. And letters.
16. You also avoided being outside at 5 o’clock on post.
17. The NEX/PX is a life saver.
18. The commissary too.
19. Bless the PX and its tax-free self.
20. You don’t really know your social security number but you damn well know your sponsor’s SSN.
21. Also Tricare is a blessing.
22. But also a curse.
23. You’ve seen so many different places.
24. And have some pretty cool stories.
25. And get some pretty big reactions when you say some of the places you’ve lived.
26. But knowing that your parent is always on the verge of another deployment sucks.
27. But you grow up so proud.
*Bonus thing: you have friends all over the country and the world.
By no means is being a military kid easy. It's one of the harder things I have ever done, but that doesn't mean it hasn't been worth it. To all the veterans out there, thank you for your service. To all the military spouses out there, thank you for giving our soldiers a strong home base to come back to. And to all you military kids out there, thank you for always sharing my story and reminding me that though it seems crazy to an outsider, our lives are just as normal as anyone else's.
Hooah.
