New Year, New Move

With all the changes that come with a military child, my last change will be in April 2026. My father is retiring, and with that, it feels like I am losing part of my life. I have known nothing else but this lifestyle; moving every one to two years has been the one thing consistent in my life. Now, I will stay. 

For the first time in my life, I will not be moving this summer. I can already feel myself getting antsy. Without the preparations for a move that would be happening around this time, my life feels somehow stagnant. I believe a lot of military kids would enjoy the fact that they get to stay somewhere for once, to be stabilized, to be grounded someplace. However, I can only feel claustrophobic with the fact that I will be staying somewhere longer than I "should be."

When I was younger, I always thought moving was a normal thing for people. It never crossed my mind that some people have stayed in their hometown for all of their lives. To this day. I can barely fathom remaining in the same place; I always imagined I would forever be moving -- constantly and always nomadic. I crave the freedom and reinvention that moving grants me, getting to carve something out for myself everywhere I go. Needing to stay seems like I am being cheated out of something.

I think I will experience this claustrophobia for the rest of my life. I don't think I will ever be able to settle and be completely at peace with that. I think being born into a military family does that to you, one way or another.

However, though uncomfortable, I believe that coming to the idea of this being the first time I will ever experience temporary settlement will be good in the long run. Experiencing discomfort will always lead to growth; pushing against resistance will allow you to pivot, which I believe being a military kid is about. Adapting, reinvention, and resourcefulness are skills I always associate with military kids.

I’ve been able to expand these skills and grow them in different areas with each move, and it is finally time to apply them again. This will be the first time in my life that I will not have something consistent, and I am intimidated by it. The only difference is applying the skills to staying. Although I feel that I am having an inverse experience to most military kids, I think the fact that I still stay, not move, is truly a culminating experience of my military life.