I have only been a part of a military relationship for a little over 3 months now but within that short amount of time, I have learned so much. Military relationships aren’t easy because you have limited communication, especially while they are away at boot camp or deployed. They are a struggle at some times but they are worth it and have taught me a lot.

1. You must learn to be independent while they are away. You will not always have them around when you need them. If you are having a bad day because work or school isn’t going your way, you must cope and figure things out by yourself. I went the entire summer, right before college, all by myself because my boyfriend was away at boot camp. I had to pack up my life into a million little boxes and pack up pictures of us and letters from him while he was away all by myself. You have to make your own decisions and do things for yourself and for a lot of people, that’s hard.

1. You must learn to let things go. You only have so many days to spend with your military man. For me, I have 10 days until he gets sent back across the country. If something is bothering you, before you make a big scene out of it, stop and think to yourself “is this even that big of a deal?” You don’t want to spend the short amount of days with them so don’t spend those days arguing.

1. Your support means everything to them. I got a letter from my boyfriend after about 5-6 weeks into boot camp saying “If it wasn’t for you, I would have given up after the first week.” He needed my support because that’s what motivated him to keep going. I sent him a letter almost every day with words like “I love you”, “I’m proud of you”, and “I’ll see you at graduation.” Even after he graduated, I continue to tell him how proud I am of him and how I can’t wait to see where he goes with the military. Without the support, he would’ve given up. Support the ones that you love in everything that they do even if it is something that you do not like.

The military has taught me so much, not only about the military itself, but also myself. It has been such an amazing journey so far and seeing both my boyfriend and myself grow independently and as a couple has been truly a blessing.