I'm finding myself now growing up and moving on from childhood: a childhood seeped in tradition and culture, cultivated by the people, not a location. From Fort Sam Houston to Fort Benning, Schofield Barracks, and Leavenworth, every place had the same familiar sense as the last. As I grow out of this childhood now, and my life takes a new form, I find myself dwelling in these memories, these specific reminders of the childhood I treasure. These are only some of the little mom

My eighth-grade graduation had me furious, although I was really excited for high school. Movies like High School Musical portray high school as a blast as we sing and dance, and I was convinced I was about to have the time of my life. Looking back now, it was nothing like what I had watched on TV, but at the time, I was just happy to leave middle school behind. Many of my friends felt differently. Towards the end of graduation, tears were falling from many people's eyes as

Moving to a new duty station right before or at the beginning of summer break can feel like terrible timing. Others might have friends, favorite places to go to, and plans in place, while you're still figuring out how to even get to your house. As a military teen, I’ve learned that not every summer has a busy social calendar, and one may end up with excess free time. However, even if not always ideal, summer doesn’t have to be wasted just because you haven’t found your people

This article was sent to us by Fiona S., an 9th grader Navy Brat stationed in Rhode Island. 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! People like me are everywhere, Not allowed to stay in one place, Some people have a choice But that’s not my case. I’ve seen everything, everywhere Scattered like dandelions in the air. It’s 2 years and then I’m gone, Always watching, waiting for anot

The following essay is the first place winner of our 2026 Month of the Military Child Writing Contest. The theme was "The Beauty of the Military Child Experience." Congratulations to Rachel R., a high school freshman! My dad (a U.S. Naval Academy graduate with 20 years of service) has something he always tells me to remember: “Who deserves the truth?” When he retired, adjusting to civilian life in Dallas, Texas, was excruciatingly painful. After moving 8 times in 15 years of

The following essay is the second place winner of our 2026 Month of the Military Child Writing Contest. The theme was "The Beauty of the Military Child Experience." Congratulations to Hayden M., a high school junior! If you were to walk into any school hallway or public space, you could hear someone making the assumption that they know everything they could know about the world. They assume they know the way the culture ebbs and flows within the people of a place they have ne

The following essay is the third place winner of our 2026 Month of the Military Child Writing Contest. The theme was "The Beauty of the Military Child Experience." Congratulations to Isabella A., a high school senior! A dandelion can put down roots anywhere with tiny yellow blossoms that are almost impossible to remove. Their long taproot allows them to grow prolifically, blooming wherever the wind carries them. Modest yet beautiful, dandelions brighten even the darkest groun

The thing that everyone focuses on when you’re a military child, when meeting new people, is always the plethora of places you’ve likely lived—for myself, sprawled across a handful of countries across a handful of continents, I’m doubtlessly familiar with the details of how cool and interesting it was to get the opportunity to live abroad. But the adjective I hated the most was when they would say I was lucky. Off the bat, I don’t have any problem with the word luck; I’m luck

When you think of loss in a military aspect, most people think of veterans, war, and soldiers. But how about those who aren’t actively training for war or those who aren’t directly in military service? Most don’t think of military children as those who have experienced loss. But, loss isn’t always death. As a kid, I lost many things. Jackets, toys, et cetera. In a way, that’s still a loss. In the military sense, I have lost some things as well, but it is nowhere close to othe

This article was sent to us by Sabela M., an 8th grader Marine Brat stationed in Virginia. 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! Sabela and her mom when they went to Romania to get away from the sirens for a bit. When my parents told me we were being stationed in Israel, I didn’t really know much about it or what was in store for me. I just knew I felt sad, because it meant sayi

There’s a strange kind of quiet that occurs with endings you’ve been expecting your whole life. Not a sudden ending — not the kind that interrupts or unravels quickly — but the kind that comes up on you slowly, almost like turning a page in a thick book. The kind that you grow up knowing will happen “one day” without ever actually knowing when that day is or what it will actually feel like when it arrives. My dad is retiring from the Marine Corps this year after 25 years of s

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

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

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

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

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

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

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