Growing up is always an adventure. Most kids live in the same town, go to the same schools, and grow up in the same house. For me, this was never a reality.
My dad joined the military when he was 17, and when he was stationed in Berlin, Germany, he met my mom. My entire life was shuffling from one state to the next every two and a half to three years. I was born in Tennessee, and while I was only there for a very short period of my life, and have absolutely no recollection of the place, Tennessee holds a special place in my heart. It’s almost a sense of pride, even though I don’t consider myself at home there.
Home is an interesting concept for us military brats. You can ask anyone where they’re from, and they’ll likely tell you the town they were born in. However, if you ask me, I surely won’t say “Oh, I’m from Fort Campbell, Tennessee.” No, instead, I, like many of the kids I met growing up, will look at you for a moment with a pained expression before asking, "do you mean, where I grew up, where I was born, or where I consider home?" Each of these questions can have a different answer, you see.
So yes, I was born in Tennessee, and I grew up in Germany. Now, unlike many of the kids I knew, I was lucky enough to do what seemed impossible: I started school and graduated in the same city. Now, to put it in perspective, I went to a German kindergarten in Bergrheinfeld, Germany. Then, I went to Schweinfurt American Elementary School for first grade. That summer before second grade, I moved to Fort Benning, Georgia. My family lived there for two years, and then bought a house and were prepared to settle down in Columbus, Georgia. Then my dad got promoted, and we were lucky enough to return to Schweinfurt during my second half of fifth grade.
I spent all three middle school years there, meeting new friends and having to see them off again. Then, my hometown didn’t have a high school, so during the four years, I went to three different schools before finally graduating at the 2-year-old Schweinfurt American High School. After I graduated, it only went on for one more year before the base closed down.
On January 10th, it will be 10 years to the day from when I returned to Germany. It also marks the longest my family has ever lived in the same city area, and we’re close to six years in the same house. This is only possible because my dad retired here.
When I came to Michigan for college, I experienced massive culture shock. None of my new friends knew what the MPs were – for the record, that’s Military Police – and the street signs were green, and the speed limits were in miles rather than kilometers. And the money was so plain and green and all the same size. Don’t even get me started about the first time I went to the movies. I still feel the need to stand up before the showing because obviously the national anthem is about to play.
Even now, three years later, I still get tripped up. I can’t explain how perplexing it is to not have the luxury of not wondering what country you’re in. Sometimes I wake up and think I’m at home, but instead I’m on campus and my roommate is in the kitchen. I don’t notice when I switch languages with my mom. For Christmas, we drove up north to visit my Oma, and at a rest stop, my mom and I were talking to each other. Twenty minutes after we were back on the road, she turns to me and says, “You know. I just realized why those two guys were looking at us funny. It didn’t occur to me at all what they were seeing. We were having a conversation in two different languages. Me, talking to you in German, and you, responding in English.”
Now, as a junior in college, I often catch myself thinking about what would have been different if I had stayed in Georgia in that house my family bought. I’m so glad I didn’t, because if we hadn’t have moved, I would have never met my closest friends. I haven’t seen many of them since middle school, and in some cases, I never met them in person at all, but we communicate on a daily basis, regardless of time zones. I probably wouldn’t have joined a sorority, and I definitely would never have competed in culinary competitions.
I am so grateful to have the experiences I did, and I quite literally owe my life to the military. It’s definitely not a life for everyone, and I guarantee you, I’m done with it too. I can’t wait to just sit back and live in the same place for more than these ten years.
To everyone who serves, has served, or is in the process of joining any branch, thank you for everything you do, because it certainly isn’t easy.
