Personal Narrative: Growing Up In A Military Family

An unknown author once said,” Keep your head up. God gives his hardest battles to his strongest soldiers.” I believe God has been giving me a lot of battles lately. One of my battles was on December the nineteenth, when I had gastric sleeve bypass surgery in Oxford, MS. A month passed, and I was doing wonderful. Then I had to go back in the hospital for gallbladder surgery. It has been almost eight months, and I have lost over eighty pounds. It has made me feel like a new person.

Growing up as a military child and living all over the world, I was afforded many

Have you ever thought to yourself “today could be the day I lose everything and everyone I care about?” As a military child I was use to moving but never did I think I would move to a whole new country. Moving to Japan was exciting, yet scary at the same time. I was excited to learn a new culture and language, but scared I wouldn’t fit in. Living on a military base I was surrounded by other military children and of course many Americans. I had an amazing first 2 years in Japan but all of that suddenly changed.

As a result, I have at least lived in six different “homes” and transferred to four different schools. It was hard to leave everything behind. All that I accomplished, the relationships I built and everyone I knew and cared about, gone. I have to start all over again from scratch, building and constructing relationships with friends and family. Then when I start to get situated, the process repeats itself again and again. Even though it was thought at first I have grown acclimated to it. As a result of this experience, I believe that I became a more independent and socially adept

Growing up as an Army brat. We had to learn a lot of values growing up. Even though my father and I didn't have a strong connection. He was still able to provide for his family. Our family showed a different type of morals. Like never show your true emotions. My brother and I had to learn that. I didn't really know what that meant till I was much older. And? It stuck with me till this day. By showing emotion would show people that you were soft. My mother would show comfort to you if you were struggling but she knew the balance of reasoning. Since growing up and moving out of the house and following the family tradition. By joining the service made my father's and myself relationship stronger. One day my father approached me and asked

Being the youngest person in a work environment can be difficult. To many, age dictates a level experience, both professional and personal, that can only be obtained over the duration of many years. For this reason, young professionals are usually relegated to junior positions. Of the adversities that I have faced in my four years as a musician in the United States Army, age was one of the most difficult to overcome.

Meet Joyce, my next door neighbor, and Madison's "adopted" grandmother. The story of how Joyce and Madison became close is one I have shared before, but will gladly share again. As a military family, we're almost always away from our family and friends. I personally cannot tell you how many mother's day I've missed with my very own mother, and also with my family. I was based at Fort Carson, in Colorado when Madison was born, and my family, except for my husband and kids, were all in another state. Just like most military family, being in a strange state with no-one close by can become daunting. Most of us have learned to live with it over the years, and we tend to adopt those that are close to us. Other military families become our families,

I arrived in Korea from Ft. Bragg, NC in December 20, 2001; upon the arrival, I learned that I would be assigned to Charlie Company 1/506th; I was hoping to assign to an anti-tank platoon. This would be the first time since basis training that I would have to use my 11B skills, other than the regular foot marches. My MOS when I joined the army was 11H until the Army grouped the 11 series together into in to 11B and 11C. I was a young SPC; weighing 145 pounds, well physically fit, and had a gun ho mentality. It was a lot to master, but I was determined to show my new chain of command that I can be one of the best in the company. Eight months later I was sent to Air Assault School; after returning from Air Assault School, I immediately sent to the E-5 board, and passed with flying colors. In Charlie Co. if you was going to be a new team leader you first had to be the Platoon RTO. I have been in Korea for 11 months, and I had been an RTO for the last two months.

Stumbling with the strap of my sandy brown backpack as sweat accumulates on my forehead, my neck, and any open pore on my body. The siege green shirt clinging to my petite form creating a small claustrophobic hell within myself. To whoever is out there and hears me, well you’re screwed. We are going to die. Let me give you a last minute advice: run. Run as fast as your lanky white legs can go. Run not with fear, because it will only paralyze and slow you down. Instead, run with the same passion and excitement you had when you first learned to walk. How you made yourself walk with wobbly steps to reach the happy clapping of your mother’s hands. Run with the same desperation you felt to reach her and be enveloped by her warmth; that every cell

When I joined the military I never thought I would have to repel from a 50 foot structure. The day we went to warrior tower was one of the must terrifying days of my life. I didn’t think I was going to be able to repel from the top because of my fear of heights. Many factors from that day have changed who I am like mini warrior tower, repelling down the tower, getting to the ground and what I learned from this

We as people make decisions every day that will affect the rest of our lives. Most people when deciding whether to do something they picture it to be amazing, fun, and exciting or boing and horrible. These thoughts may be true once you experience it but it can also be the opposite of what you were thinking. My decision was to join the military as the marine. I will be doing a comparison/contract on my perceptions on going to Bootcamp, ITB (infantry training battalion), and The Fleet.

Being a childhood traveler is simultaneously an identity and a shared community. My identity has made friendships more intense and freeing. A drive to provide friendship to strangers is a convenient trait which has led to temporary but empathic bonds.

In 2010 my mom had married her high school crush, who happened to be in the Air Force. At the time, I didn’t know much about military life. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do as a brat. As a family, we lived in three different places. Manitoba Canada, Joint Base Lewis/ McCord, and San Angelo Texas. At first, it was easy to make friends, mostly because when you’re younger and new, everyone wants to be your friend. I liked moving all over the place, but as I got older, I discovered that making friends became harder.

All my life I had always been moving from place to place. I never stayed in the same house or even school for more than a year. I was always the new kid. It came to a point that I saw no reason enough to make new lasting friends since I will be moving at the end of the school year. My sister and I looked forward to moving but I was getting tired of always having to move. My parents were in business that changed a lot and that’s why we moved everywhere. The one thing that I always looked up to at the end of the year was being at my grandparents for the summer and not having to worry about anything. Just family time and have fun before I go to some other place.

In 2007 my family left Western Springs Illinois. My dad got a new job in Atlanta, Georgia. I was too little to know it then but Atlanta is a totally different place than Western Springs, filled with a much greater array of cultures, ethnicities, and especially foods. Of course, we return to Western Springs every few months to visit family and friends but when I was younger I always wanted to move back. The idea of being surrounded by friends and family whenever I wanted was very appealing to my little kid mind but moving widened my horizons more than I could have known then. Now I realize that moving to Atlanta fueled my confidence and readiness to experience new things and try unfamiliar foods.