Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that I would fall in love with someone in the military. It never even crossed my mind that I could possibly love someone who I would have to make an appointment just to see.
Never did I imagine that I, Kahyah, the annoying, semi-clingy, highly jealous, drama-queen-when-in- relationships, would be in a long distance relationship. I like to think of myself as a walking, talking, living Barbie *flips hair.* So, it was only right that I found my Ken on my college campus right?
Not exactly. I fell for G.I. Joe instead. Fell hard, like on my face….hard. So what is being an Army girlfriend like? Wait, I mean what was being an Army girlfriend like? Listen up and I will tell you.
Being an Army girlfriend was like eating a pack of Starbursts. 50 percent amazing and 50 percent not exactly amazing. Everyone loves the pink and red flavors; they are sweet and delicious. But the yellow and orange, oh, boy, those aren't as good but you still eat them because it's still candy and still fulfills your need for something sweet.
Get it?
Maybe I should further simplify. Being a military significant other had its good times and it had its rough times. But guess freaking what? All relationships do! So what really was the difference between dating an Army man opposed to a guy that was right on my campus? The difference was the distance and the uncertainty that surrounded it.
So again I ask this question, what was being an Army girlfriend like?
It was like early morning wake up messages because he was on his way to PT, and it was late night phone calls where he would be so tired that he would fall asleep on the phone and I would stay on just listening to him sleep until I, too, fell asleep. It was not being able to communicate for over a week because he was out in the field somewhere without a phone, it was letters when he was at basic training, it was flying out to where he was stationed, it was home visits that were entirely too short. It was accepting the distance because the man you were with was worth it. It was dreaming of the day that you would roll over and he would be right next to you every morning. It was jealousy, being jealous of anyone and everything that got to touch him or spend time with him because you couldn't whenever you wanted to. It was patience and hope.
But most importantly it was love. It was loving someone so much that no matter how far away they were you still were holding them down even when they were too blind to see it. It was loving someone so much that nothing else in the world mattered but their happiness even if that meant them being with someone else. Being an Army girlfriend was a constant battle between needs and wants. The want of something close but the need for what you already have. Being an Army girlfriend taught me how to truly love someone. It taught me that sometimes you may just have to fight for what you love and sometimes you may lose. So freaking what? That’s life.
