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 that other military kids might also relate.

Getting the news that you are going to move is not easy. With it comes the idea that, since everything is going to change soon, you may as well not put effort into your community or relationships. As a move approaches, the idea of withdrawing from the life that one has created in a certain location looms. It may make it seem easier to leave, but I think it is very important not to completely check out of your situation in worries of difficult goodbyes. It may sound like a cliché, but it really is great to be able to have people who make saying goodbye hard. And I have personally found that pushing people away prematurely leads to regret. I have learned that in the time building up before a big change in your life, it is important to really appreciate the good you have. You will go on to build new bonds, but that doesn’t mean you have to sever the old ones.

I am applying this lesson to my life now. Although my classmates and I will be off in different directions in a few months, I am not letting that stop me from cherishing my time with them now. Through this time of shared situations, I think that I have become even closer with those in my life, because it is now clearer just how fleeting relationships can be and how we should treasure what we have while we can.

As a senior in high school, I feel that being a military child has given me unique insight into this new transitional period of my life. Although it will be hard, I believe that being a military child has shaped my mindset in a way that helps me to enjoy my time left while also looking forward to the future.