As school ends and summer comes around the corner, I know it’s time when many military kids are getting ready to pack up and leave the place they once called home. I know this can be a difficult process for us all, no matter how many times we claim we are 'used to it.'  So I wrote this version of “’Twas the Night Before Christmas,” but as 'Twas the Night Before the Move, because I know so many military kids can relate to these feelings. Twas the night before the move, in a ha

“121!” Nina shouts out another trail marker, but her originally peppy, satisfied tone has worn off into a blunt statement of fact. One marker in 10 minutes, yep, seems about right. This hike will never end. My stomach is pinched by the hip strap of my bag that I pulled too tightly to myself, my shoes get increasingly heavy with every “not–so–dry” patch of mud I step into.  I’d rather just stop here and sleep, there’s no point to this anyways. Maybe we took a wrong turn, I hav

A beautiful nature trail at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. “The land knows you, even when you are lost.” That is a quote from Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants  by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Most military children would guffaw at the idea -- we're always moving consistently, adapting to entirely different environments, constantly being the outsider in what feels like a fortressed community. How could the land know us? If we are peo

In a life with so much change, so much inconsistency from year to year, living on base has been my rock. From year zero to fifteen, I always knew that, no matter what, I could come back to base at the end of a long day, safe from any problems in the outside world.  Living on base was my ultimate refuge, the only constant between each new duty station. No matter how new or uncomfortable the outside world looked from year to year, I always had the Commissary, my favorite Freedo

This article is part of the Bloom Spotlight series, where we aim to recognize current and former military teens who are doing amazing things. If you know a current or former military teen (regardless of age) who is impacting the military community in a way that deserves to be recognized, visit our Bloom Spotlight page . Leah Scarmeas is a senior in high school who is heavily involved and accomplished in pageantry. She holds the Miss South Carolina Teen USA title, achieved thr

When was the last time you compared yourself to someone around you? Comparing yourself to other people isn’t always a bad thing. Comparison can be constructive if it motivates you to do better, but more often than not, it can become a dangerous habit that must be broken. Comparing myself to others is something I personally struggle with, so I understand how it feels. I understand the discouragement it can bring. It's easy to fall down a rabbit hole of comparing yourself to ot

Recently, I had a conversation with my friend about our last few months of high school. As we discussed the changes we would soon face and the last few months before graduation, she said something that resonated with me. She explained that she was having a hard time being in the present, knowing that soon her community would completely change. At that moment, I realized that what she said applied to me not only as a senior in high school, but also as a military child -- and t

Currently, as a teenage girl living in the suburban Midwest, my life is stereotypically boring. I live in what one may argue is a copy-and-paste suburban house, go to my local public high school, play a sport, and am part of the school musical. My daily routine doesn’t really vary; besides the occasional plans with my friends and family vacations, my life is calmly repetitive.   If you look at the definition of boredom itself, then my current situation can undoubtedly be deem

I learned early that goodbye is a language spoken quietly in parking lots, in driveways full of cardboard boxes, in hallways where lockers close for the last time. Being a military kid means you grow up measuring life in school years and duty stations, friends who stay for two years, sometimes one, sometimes just long enough to learn their favorite song before they disappear on a new map. But this year feels different. Senior year sits heavy in my hands, like a suitcase that

This article is part of the Bloom Spotlight series, where we aim to recognize current and former military teens who are doing amazing things. If you know a current or former military teen (regardless of age) who is impacting the military community in a way that deserves to be recognized, visit our Bloom Spotlight page.   Kelsey Dardas is a sophomore in high school who is heavily involved and accomplished in rifle shooting. She shoots on a club team and through her school’s J

“Where are you from?” It’s one of the most rudimentary, typical questions in the world, one that most people answer without having to think twice about it. However, as a military teen, it's never been that simple, because the truth is that I’m not really from anywhere.  Most people have a hometown, somewhere that they can claim as their own, a place where they and their family have lived for many years. But my answer has never been definite. Do I say where I was born? Where I

My sister likes to think of our childhood as nomadic, always packing up and moving from one place to another.  I remember the boxes in our garage or storage that remained there for years, only to be moved again. Now and then, the content of those boxes would change, yet their meaning remained the same -- an imminent reminder of the next time we’d have to move. When I was younger, I never paid much mind to those boxes, always playing and hanging out with those whom I called fr

Being a Navy kid, I’ve been around or in water close to my entire life. My family was commonly found strolling across the beach in Coronado, or visiting the Ballard Locks while living in Seattle, and there was hardly a Friday afternoon while living in Singapore where we didn’t go to the pool after school. What's weird, though, is that I am most definitely a homebody who loves to crack open a nice new book. Rather than being outdoorsy, I'm "outdoorsy- ish ." When it's nice out

This article was sent to us by Ellanora W., an 11th grader Marine Brat stationed in Utah. Do you have a story to share with your fellow military teens? Visit our guest contribution page to find out how you can submit to Bloom! Say goodbye Once again another goodbye Goodbye friends Goodbye house I used to call home Goodbye school I used to wander Goodbye barn that brought it all back Hello, a phrase I’m sick of hearing Hello to the new room Hello to the new school Hello to th

As someone who loves watching movies and TV shows, I often find myself wishing I could step into the lives of the characters I admire. Through these characters, despite some of them being fictional, I can connect with them and even find role models. As a military child, there are some characters with specific experiences that make me feel seen by reflecting certain aspects of my life. Harry Potter I am an AVID Harry Potter reader and movie watcher. Harry experiences many thin

There is a proverb that states, "When one door closes, another opens." This may seem like a simple saying, but it has a much deeper meaning than many people imply.  Growing up, my parents always made sure I was being active and doing something with a team. I did soccer, dance, and gymnastics as a kid. I ended up not loving soccer and quit altogether. When I was about eight years old, my parents had me make my first big decision that I can remember. I had to choose between dan

I first stumbled across the word “hiraeth” on TikTok under a video titled “beautiful words that describe obscure emotions.” After skipping through the slideshow and periodically jotting down new vocabulary to cram into my AP Lang essays, one word caught my eye. “Hiraeth” is a Welsh word, and while it doesn’t have a direct English translation, it is commonly described as a certain complex type of homesickness, sometimes for a home that was brief or nonexistent, or even one tha

At my school, in choir, we do a "song of the day." Every quarter, each person has to present a song and speak about it. It could be meaningful and resonate with you. Or, it could be a fun song you really enjoy. Whatever it is, you talk about it, and then that is the first thing we listen to in class that day. So far this school year, if a song has stood out to me, I wrote it down. Usually, it was a song I recognized but didn't know the name of or forgotten about it entirely.

One day, something fell from the ceiling of my bedroom. It wasn’t loud enough to startle me, just a soft tap against the old carpeted floor that had been in every one of my bedrooms. I looked down and saw a blue glow-in-the-dark star -- o ne of the dozens I had stuck to my ceiling two or three years ago. The sticky plaster had finally given up. I picked it up, like it was asking me to, sitting in the middle of the newly vacuumed floor, ruining the symmetry. It felt so dusty a

They line up in caps and gowns, a soft parade down familiar halls, each step returning them to a classroom that never left them. Teachers wait with knowing smiles, walls still painted the same colors, floors remembering exactly where they grew up. I stand at the edge of the line, tassel brushing my cheek, searching for a doorway that could claim me. But my childhood is scattered four playgrounds, two countries, pledge of allegiance in different languages. I learned two alphab

One of the adjectives most commonly used to describe military teens is, without a doubt, "resilient." What does this look like in everyday life, though? How can you be resilient and persevere through life as a military teen despite all the challenges we face? B eing a military kid isn’t always easy, so let’s brave this journey together. Here at Bloom, there is a whole community of supportive military teens dealing with struggles similar to yours. Life already isn't easy, and

I've seen much discussion on my feed lately of "Gen Z's overwhelming Nostalgia." Our tendency to reminisce on everything "unimportant" -- a random place, an insignificant time, and even the past we may never have experienced. We often make Pinterest boards and edits of the 70s, 90s and every other time we didn't live, specifically the times before social media and smart phones. As I feel this storyline picking up more and more, I feel a definite truth in it. I think of every

Over the 18 years I’ve been a military brat, my family’s been stationed at Fort Leavenworth for about nine years (over three different times). Most recently, when we were told we’d be going back to Kansas, I was upset. Kansas… ugh. What’s there to like about Kansas?  Well, as I’ve found out, there’s a lot to like about Kansas. Even in the small town of Leavenworth, which I can drive across in no more than 15 minutes, I have found an extensive amount of joy.  Signature Cafes 

My first day of school in Germany, my skin still tan from the sun in Georgia. Dearest Germany, The first time I met you was July 4, 2018. I was jet-lagged and could barely keep my eyes open. I didn’t even realize I met you at that moment; I was too tired. My memories of the first day together were captured through an out-of-focus camera lens at the airport, the drive to the hotel, and then sleeping -- all seen through a blur. As the days passed, though, I got to know a little