Whenever I imagine a world without moving every few years, I see a pretty bleak image. Moving is one of my favorite parts of military life. What if I had lived in Missouri or Texas for my whole life? What if I hadnever lived near Tombstone or the Alamo? What if I had never lived near Bisbee or Austin? What if I had never lived near the nation’s Capital? This list could go on forever, and my thoughts could spin out of control if I let them.
When I moved to Fort Huachuca, AZ, twenty minutes from the Mexican border, from Alexandria, VA, I did not know what to think of the situation. Just a month ago I was twenty minutes from Washington, D.C. and now I was twenty minutes from Mexico in a small town. Little did I know, it would be my favorite place I have ever lived.
The military is funny in the fact that they are everywhere. One place where you can see this is Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn, NY and Fort Irwin, CA. One is in the biggest city in the country, and the other is in the middle of the Californian desert. Another thing about the military is everything seems to work out, even when people thought we wouldn’t be able to survive in the paradise that is beautiful Fort Huachuca, AZ. We loved it there.
However, there are drawbacks to this lifestyle, too. I would have loved to go to homecoming with people I’ve known since birth, or have a friend that I could call a brother because of how much time I spent at his house. I would have loved to be able to walk over to my grandparents’ house after school. Even with these great things that I don’t have in my life, I would not trade my hectic life for anything. It is the coolest thing ever to be able to have lived in eight states by the time you are fifteen, and have been able to live in all of the wests; as in the Southwest, Midwest, and the Pacific Northwest.
People often ask me if I ever feel like I am not connected to anywhere. But actually, I feel more connected than most people. I have connections to the mountains and “cloudshine” of Washington. I have connections to the desert of Southern Arizona, and the plains and forests of Missouri. I have connections to the Revolutionary War history of Virginia, and the Civil War history of South Carolina. I have connections to the open space and vastness of Texas and Montana.
My crazy life has its pros and cons. However, it has many more pros than meets the eye, and the pros absolutely blow the cons out of the water. Moving is an amazing thing that evokes different emotions in people, but for military brats, it typically brings back fond memories. I have been able to experience many different people, and I have been able to pick and choose who I want to be based on the people I have lived around. This makes a military teen uniquely attached to many types of people.