When I was a kid, I used to imagine what it would be like to live in the same place for more than a couple of years and I could never do it. Now that I'm older and I've grown up some, I've found that I still have trouble imagining what it would be like to spend my entire childhood in the same place. Never worrying about moving every couple of years and never wondering what the next home looked like; those concepts still seem foreign to me and yet I will always wonder what it was like not growing up in a military family. Moving from place to place, never really settling down somewhere, getting enrolled in new schools constantly; all of these things were major parts of my life growing up in a military family.

While the thought of always moving around may seem stressful, it really became a comfort for me growing up, but now it seems so weird to me that I am living in the same city and have had the same friends for more than two years. It may seem like a silly idea but the life of a military child demands some sacrifices.

Never having the normal childhood experience is definitely frustrating at times but I always remind myself of all of the opportunities that I had growing up because my parents were in the military. I was able to live all around the world and I was able to travel to amazing places all the time. The things I got to experience growing up were amazing. I will never forget living in Germany. I will never forget flying into the airport for the first time at Lajes air base in the Azores. All of these events are part of who I am. They are part of my personality.

So what. I didn't have the traditional living situation that most people enjoy but I did get something even greater than that. I learned how to make friends and quickly! Moving every few years is rough on kids because they are unable to form solid friendships, but after moving around constantly you grew accustomed to making new friends which has helped me tremendously in college. Everyone gets worried when they come to college that they won't make any friends or that they will have trouble making friends, but due to my experiences moving all the time, I was slightly more prepared than the average college freshman for the fear of the unknown.

In the end I'm glad that I grew up in a military family. Moving, meeting new people, experiencing new environments; these events made me. I was forced into having the necessary social skills needed to take on college and the real world and I'm greatful for it!