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

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

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

Recently, a Bloom blog titled 'Sports: Benefiting Military Teens' discussed the incredible benefits that sports can have on military...

When military teens move to a new place, a major struggle is meeting people at their new school - finding people and potential friends to...

Sports are hard, especially for us military kids -- not in the sense that they're more physically taxing for us, but because we don't...

Swiss fans at a Public Viewing event in Zürich Growing up, I had never been a huge fan of watching sports—now that's an understatement—I...

As a child of two athletes, I was bound to be immersed in the world of sports. Starting at the age of 4, I began playing basketball on a...

Everyone loves a good sports story -- from comeback kid to child prodigy, most stories tend to have happy endings. However, one athletic...

As an avid sports fan, I grew up following my favorite teams and staying up well past my bedtime to watch Monday night football. The next...