A great many people have lived in the same town their entire lives. If you’re like me and moved a lot, such as being a military brat or your family just moved a lot for another reason, you always feel slightly jealous of those people who talk about how they lived in the same town for their entire lives and how much they love it. You didn’t get that experience.

Instead, you were the one who got to live in a lot of different places; each one different from the last. Of course, many of the people who say they love their hometown also hate it too because they were in the same place their entire lives. But don’t we all hate the places we live at some point? Even if you’ve lived there for a few years or your whole life. Now, being a frequent mover, you were always ready for the next move. To be honest, I am so grateful to have moved so many times. I believe it made me into the person I am today as we are all affected by the places we live. Someone who grew up in a rural area can have a completely different background than someone who grew up in the city. We should all embrace diversity. This is something I was taught just by sometimes living in small towns to bigger cities, or even a different country. No one person or, for instance, place is the same, and moving to a new place means learning a new way of doing things.

In all, I have lived eight different places, attended six different schools, and had so many experiences that many people my age have not experienced. I have lived in a different country, and even though I was very young, coming back to the United States is something you have to get used to. I lived in Germany for a few years, and it is still one of the favorite places I have ever lived. From the architecture to even just the food, it is a totally different ball game. Even a Coca-Cola tastes different in other countries (PSA: Germany has the best one).

For anyone who has ever lived in another country, you learn to appreciate other people’s cultures so much more, and it fills you with wanderlust to go to many more places. That isn’t to say that people who have lived in one place their entire lives haven’t experienced that, but actually experiencing it is something new entirely. As said before, you do appreciate other cultures so much more, and living there changes you in many ways. I would give anything to go anywhere in the world if I could, and experience a completely different culture. It is so interesting and rewarding to see how things work in other places and truly experience it.

I have always considered myself lucky to get to live in so many places, and I’m sure if you have experienced the same thing, you consider yourself lucky, too. You learn a lot. Of course, there’s always some jealousy towards the people who live in the new place you have moved to that have always lived there. They know everyone, and coming in as a newcomer is hard because you have to integrate yourself into someone’s friend group. However, you get good at it, and you learn how to read people very well so you know if someone is genuine or not at being your friend.

All in all, moving a lot is hard, but I would not trade it for anything. The get-up-and-go of it all is almost exhilarating although tiring, and if you’re like me, you probably got used to moving every few years. When your family finally settles down in a place like mine has for the past 5 years, you get a little restless, but you learn to appreciate living in a place for a long time. You’ll never have the experiences of those that lived in one place their entire lives, but they’ll never have the same experiences you did either. You can trade stories with all of your new friends, and appreciate one another’s differences in life. It’s a big world out there, so whether you’ve moved a lot already or been in one place your entire life, explore it. There is so much to see and experience, and you won’t regret it.