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MILITARY LIFE
MOVING
PEOPLE
EXPERIENCES
The Small Things
The military child life can be a difficult one. Most people understand the moving, a parent’s deployment, goodbyes that never seem to end. But what they don’t always see are the little things, things that seem so small until they’re a part of me. Small changes Like my braces, taken off too early, since a new orthodontist means another payment Even my smile can be changed by a move. Finding care Someone to do my thick hair, I learned which styles would last, until I found a n
Morgan C.
1 day ago
The Company We Keep
Reflection: The act of taking time to think deeply about your experiences, actions, or emotions. With it being almost two months since I graduated high school and about a week until I head back to the U.S. for college, I’ve done a lot of reflecting. Not just over the past 4 years, but over my life in general and how far I’ve come. In 18 years, I've lived in 10 houses in 8 different places. I've moved 9 times. I've attended 7 schools. But most importantly, I can reflect on all
Zoe M.
Aug 10
Am I A Local Now?
As I pitched this title idea to my mom, she immediately answered with “no,” but still… For the past six years (and my father isn’t even retired yet), I’ve lived at Fort Leavenworth. After only a year and a half, my family moved into a quiet farmhouse just inside the city limits of Leavenworth. Many of my activities still revolved around post, but I spent most of my time in the community. I’ve participated in service events in the community, spent numerous times at the local
Elisabeth H.
Jul 27
What Home Means To Me
For most of my life, home was never a place. It was moving boxes, new schools, and learning how to say goodbye, before I was ever ready. Then, for the first time, I found people who felt like family. A place where I didn't have to keep wondering when I'd have to leave next. It finally felt like home. Now college is here, and once again, I'm packing up my life to start over. It's exciting, but it's hard to leave the first place that ever made me feel like I truly belonged. May
Abby H.
Jul 20
Fortune Favors the Bold
Summers on a military base often turn out to be the polar opposite of the stereotypical “summer break” advertised by Disney Channel, where popsicles, slip ‘n’ slides, and pool days are replaced with difficult goodbyes, moving trucks, and dingy hotel rooms. The typical summer boredom that sets in for most teenagers in early August is amplified on a military base, merging with lots of the unknown to form a super-obstacle before the next school year. If you’ve ever faced the su
Alice C.
Jul 17
Pieces of Home
Moving is always hard, and not only for military teens. The smell of moving boxes, school paperwork, and saying goodbyes. Every time I look at a blank wall, I see something new—a blank canvas of possibilities. As a fellow military kid, I know how hard it is to fill up those giant voids surrounding you. Here are a couple of my favorite things to do and some meaningful and interesting things to display when moving into a new place, both inside and outside the house. Quirky Ad
Reina L.
Jul 13
Graduation Goodbyes are Nothing for Military Kids
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
Morgan C.
Jul 6
Things to Do While Solo-Summering
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
Gabrielle F.
Jun 29
A Real Choice
I recently came across a slam poetry assignment I had done in the 7th grade, and it made me realize just how much my attitude and perspective have changed surrounding being a military kid and everything that comes with that. Here I am standing still Under this summer sun I still feel a chill Here we go again Goodbye goodbye See you soon or never again Friends I have made over and over again One at a time they fade from memory over and over again Whoosh whoosh whoosh Across t
Zoe M.
Jun 22
Dandelion Seeds
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
Guest Writer
Jun 15
Making "Sense" of Moving
Moving can feel overwhelming, but breaking a PCS down into tangible moments by making sense of all the things you feel and experience along the way can make the journey a lot more manageable. So, what does moving actually feel like? Thinking back on my life, to me, moving feels… Like the sound of packing tape wrapping up boxes Like the smell of cardboard wafting through an empty house as we construct cardboard box forts Like the beautiful sights of passing scenery on a long
Katie S.
Jun 5
Growing Up
I grew up between time zones, measuring years in PCS, learning that “home” could be a mailbox I learned to stop checking. I became fluent in starting over, new hallways, new faces, new versions of me introduced like I had always been there. Now I’m eighteen, standing at the edge of something louder than moving trucks, where goodbyes don’t come with return dates and I can’t follow behind anymore. They call it becoming an adult, but I still carry every place I left like stamps
Abby H.
May 22
Finding Normal in the Sirens
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
Guest Writer
May 11
The Feelings of My Final Move
Around two months ago, I found out that I would be leaving my current station of almost three years and moving back to my previous station this summer. This would be my first move after my dad’s retirement, and this news excited me—the thought of returning to a place I was so in love with, leaving my small school, and getting to reunite with my friends again. However, I recently realized that this would be my last move before I go to college. Never before have I had my futur
Gabrielle F.
May 8
Finish Line
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
Dannika R.
May 4
Faces I Can't Find
There’s a popular trend on most social media platforms, based on the concept of “lost faces”, having memories of loved ones but being unable to remember their faces. I never thought about it twice, because I always assumed I was exempt. While trying to work through my amazing writer's block, I searched through my memories for something of relevance. The most I could remember were snapshots of specific places in my mind. The more I thought, the more I could remember. One pic
Kloe C.
Apr 27
'Twas the Night Before the Move
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
Morgan C.
Apr 24
Military Children & Nature: Reciprocity, Resilience, and Nurture
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
Grace M.
Apr 17
Leaving Base
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
Calleigh L.
Apr 13
How Being a Military Child has Prepared Me for My Senior Year
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
Gabrielle M.
Mar 30
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