I've officially moved.
Overseas.
For the first time in my life!
So the weirdest thing about moving wasn't the actual moving part, the empty streets, ghost towns that echoed when you shouted.
No. The weirdest part was not being able to say our normal goodbyes.
Normally saying goodbye doesn't actually mean "I will never, ever see you again."
No.
It means "Eh... I will probably run into you in a couple of years." Or, "I'll see you again soon." Because for military kids, it really is a small world after all. However, with the addition of the COVID-19 crisis, the goodbyes didn't even happen for some of us. I remember getting texts from friends asking if I'd left yet, and that hit me as the weirdest thing, responding either, "Nope, still here." Or "Uh... I left like three weeks ago." or something like that. It was really weird. Especially not being able to say goodbye to my school friends. That was harsh. Because I truly don't know when I would see them again.
I miss my friends a lot, especially when traveling to say goodbye to my family before going overseas. Spending a lot of time with family can drive one insane, but you try your best not to cause a rift as you say your farewells.
Then you go on an airplane, and you're really nervous because you're just not a huge fan of planes. And then you go on multiple plane rides, one of them being your very first one overseas. Your friends are like, "you'll be fine," and you are like, "oh my goodness, I'm freaking out!"
And then you realize they have cool TV devices that you can watch movies and play games on and you relax. And through the entire plane ride, you're thinking that if you don't finish the movie you can finish it when you come back... and then you realize you won't be going back for a while.
The thought crosses your mind. You are really out of your element. You walk through unfamiliar airports unsure what to do, things are different and you can't believe that you're about to walk into a dream come true. You are no longer the military kid who hasn't been overseas.
You are finally overseas.