At 19 years old, I have been a military child for 12 years, and it has been a whirlwind. At 7 years old, I joined the military lifestyle, and it has provided me with some great opportunities, but it has also provided me with some hard times. As an adult in college, who has almost completed her first year of college, I am now able to look back and identify these opportunities and hard times, and how they have helped me develop as a person.

Living in different places

One of the advantages of being a military child is the opportunity to move and experience different places. If it weren't for my military background, I would not have lived in Maryland, nor would I have lived in multiple areas of North Carolina. Had my mother not married into the military, I most likely would have spent most of my life in Virginia; to this day, I claim North Carolina as my home, as I spent almost of my teenage years between New Bern and Wilmington, and I loved it. On the other hand, I moved a lot. As a young child, and even as a teenager, it was hard to handle. Usually, my family moved stations every two or three years, with my teenage years as an exception. I moved schools more often than I did stations, bringing my total (excluding college) school count to 14, meaning that I basically moved schools for every grade I was in. (I went to high school for five years, dual enrollment for my degree -- I did not fail!) Moving around and saying "bye" to so many people is not an easy thing, especially for a child, but the silver lining is the number of friends that I gained in all of this time. I do not keep in touch with a lot of them, especially those from elementary school, but I am able to keep up with those from middle and high school through Facebook (thank you, technology). Regardless of the difficulty of having to leave a lot of my friends, I am glad that I had the opportunity to get to know them because, without some of them, I would not be the person I am today.

Making the most of what you have

For the longest time, I took a lot of things for granted, especially my family. I think this is normal for children, but at some point, we learn to cherish what we have. There were a few times when my dad had to leave on deployment, and my family wouldn't see him for months. For us, it was agony missing him and hoping he was OK. We also knew that someone else had it worse; there was always someone who was on a deployment that was longer, further away, and more dangerous. We were grateful for what little information we did have to tell us Dad was safe. The first deployment is always the hardest; we didn't know what it really entailed. We knew we would have limited contact, and there would be times when he wouldn't be able to contact us for weeks at a time. The movies always make it look like the family/lover back home gets a letter or a phone call at least once a week or every other week. In my experience, that is not even remotely true. But it's OK. Any contact was a blessing and a relief. Despite the difficulties of military life, I learned to make the most of what you have, and cherish it deeply, because you never know when it will be taken away from you.

Growing up a little early

When my dad went on a deployment, it was just my mother, my two younger brothers, and myself at home. (A quick side note: a round of applause to my mother for caring for us essentially on your own; raising three kids is a huge accomplishment, especially when I was a brat most of the time.) As a military child, you learn to grow up a little earlier; you deal with intense emotions at an early age, and in my case, you kind of take on the role of a parent. Since I was young, my mom and I were a team, and that didn't change when my Dad went on a deployment; instead, it enhanced our teamwork and taught me to grow up a little bit, because the world doesn't revolve around me.

Everything that I experienced as a military child has affected me in my college experience. I notice that I am a little more mature than most of the college students, and I have more of my priorities in order. I also find it possible to be away from my family, despite how much I miss them (I would still absolutely love if they could come home). I make it a point to make the most of my opportunities at college because I know that not everyone has my opportunity. I know that I would not be the person, nor the student, I am today without my military background. Military life is not easy, but it is a life I wouldn't trade for anything.