Growing up in the military can be tough, especially when you move around a lot. Going to a new school is very difficult, especially when you move into the school halfway through the year. When the school year has already started most people have already settled down with their friends and their groups they hang out with and It's hard to find a group of people to be with. Finding new friends, getting used to the area, finding new activities to get into and finding a new job. Also, getting back into school and getting used to different teaching methods that you aren't used to. I first moved out of high school my sophomore year. I had to leave all of my close friends that I’ve been with for years. When we moved, I was angry, frustrated, sad,
and nervous. Moving to my second high school was scary, I was only there for four months before I would move again unknowingly but It felt eternal. When we found out we were moving again, I was happy because I never found my way at that school, I didn't feel welcomed. Again, We would only be there for a few months, but It felt like forever. No one likes being the new kid, you start feeling alone really quick. Moving around a lot, there was something I could always do, and that is going to the gym. After I moved I started working out, I started eating healthy and taking care of my body. That made me feel really good about myself and gave me something to do. When we moved the third time to the High School I am at currently I was happy to move out of Indiana and back to California where I grew up. Immediately when we moved back, I drove up to my hometown to see all my friends and I was so happy. Moving Is hard and challenging but I always had in the back of my mind that I would be back someday and that kept my head up in the hard times.
I was at Fort Benning Georgia in August 1988 to attend jump school. I had done my basic training here four years earlier with Sgt. Smith who would be my black hat true instructor for airborne school. I was standing in formation at five in the morning. It was cold now, but Georgia has hot, humid daytime temperatures that were draining mentally and physically for a student from Northern California. I knew I wanted to be here even though there would be physical and mental stresses, challenges and the possibility of serious Injury. The students would be weeded out at every point. I did not want it to happen to me. During my four years in the Army, I learned that I like to be an independent, resourceful, goal oriented problem solver. In the infantry, I had to obey the orders and not think for myself. Uniformity in everything was demanded.
The military lifestyle offers the opportunity for children to develop strong characteristics growing up. A study by Richard Lerner reveals, “Children who move can "reinvent" themselves; they can try out new activities, explore different social relationships, and develop new interests and talents. In one study, 75 percent of military parents reported that moving enhanced their children's development” (Lerner) Parents have seen the positives of moving and reveal that it enhanced their child’s development. Thus creates more adventures and allows for the children to be more open to try new activities and interests. This statistic shows that moving can be a major factor in developing socially active characteristics.
When I joined the United States Marine Corps, I knew it would change my life, but I never realized how great those changes would be. I was trained in public affairs as a print and broadcast journalist, and immediately stationed in Okinawa, Japan. Drastic life changes can take a toll both physically and emotionally over time, and it is always important to have a great personal support system to thrive through those times. My senior advisor at the time, Master Gunnery Sgt. (Master Guns) Charles Albrecht, turned out to be one of the best supporters I could ever ask for.
Every day of my life I have woken up to the sound of Reveille, and gone to bed listening to Taps. I have moved nine different times, know the feeling of having my dad deploy more than four times, and eating Thanksgiving dinner in a DEFAC is second-nature to me. Being an army child is a huge part of my life, however it does not define who I am; it has shaped how I view the world. Because of my life as a military child, I have determined that I am compelled to positively influence how others view life.
Anytime a child is away from their parent whether it is to spend time with friends, while parents are at work or during school children tend to get emotional. Parents that are in active in the military can never be sure how much time they have to spend with their families. Separation anxiety is something that affects both child and parent negatively, and there is only so much you can do to prepare for it. Being deployed in the military is honorable but it will take a toll of on a family, especially a developing child.
Moving to a new school, especially high school, in itself is a very daunting and
It is not every day you see a three-year-old walking around the park or grocery store clutching the soggy ear of a plush Winnie the Pooh that has been sucked on in one hand, and a photograph of a disabled veteran in the other. Nonetheless, if you were in my neighborhood that is exactly what you would have seen.
Starting high school is tough for some people. Moving to a new city is also tough for some people. Or me I had to deal with both. I can remember my very first day of high school, I was so nervous. I didn’t make any friends over the summer so I didn’t talk to anyone. I was pushed out of my comfort zone to talk to people and make new friends. A few months into school I received my first interim. It wasn't the greatest but , I blamed it on my transition to high school and promised that
Everything I dreamed about for my senior year was taken from me the day that I moved. When I left my old school I not only said goodbye to my friends, but I also said goodbye to an easy senior year. At my new school I am just another body. No one knows who I am. I talk to everyone I meet, trying to make conversation, but yet I still eat alone in the cafeteria every day, listening to everyone laugh while I try to hold back my tears.
With the increase of student veterans entering college communities, the transition process may prove to be difficult. “Leaving the military and enrolling in college can certainly be considered a significant life transition, as veterans move from a highly structured military environment to contexts lacking clear rules or chains of command” (Gilbert & Griffin, 2015). During this time, student veterans are navigating through unfamiliar territory within a college campus, but while reassessing their identity. Student veterans may experience feeling disconnected to their college community. Beyond transitioning from the military into an environment that is unfamiliar, student veterans must cope with having to merge their past to their present. Furthermore, this is a trying time for many student veterans particular due to the rising issues of mental health issues and service-related physical disabilities.
I have been blessed to have led a highly fulfilling career over the past 22 years. The Air Force’s standards of conduct and performance have helped me mature into an adult while creating lasting memories along the way. I have had the opportunity to make significant contributions to my country that offer a sense of pride and personal achievement. My current duties allow me to directly contribute to the Air Force and Joint arena on an almost daily basis. Joining the Air Force helped me to realize I had undertaken a task bigger than myself.
In the beginning it was great. Everything was new and exciting. Whenever I went on leave I couldn 't wait to get back to work after only a few days. The years passed and all the new and exciting things became old and boring. I began going on back to back deployments and I started to get really burned out. When I went to my twenty year high school reunion I got a chance to see what life as a civilian could be like and I wanted that. I no longer wanted to move when the army decided that they needed me some place. I wanted to put down roots and I couldn 't really do that while I was in the army.
Growing up I wasn't a nice person I went to F.E.S kindergarten through 2nd grade and I would fight anyone just with them looking at me a way and didn't like I would beat them up. In 1st grade I was a permanent in the office at lunch kid because I couldn't get along with anyone. I remember my last day I was able to go out side to play on the playground there was this kid that was on the spider monkey with me and my friend hope and stabbed my best friend with a pocket knife and I blacked out and ripped him off of the spider monkey and I don't remember nothing but coming out of compleat black and sitting in the office in handcuffs.
One of the things that can cause a significant change in someone’s life is moving. If you are moving far enough away that you will have to go to a different school, it will cause even more of a significant change. You would have to leave your friends and family that lived near you. Although it would be sad, many new opportunities would open up and you could start a new life. Moving can be hard for a lot of people. They might have to leave their best
Army life can be very challenging and a life changing experience. It was very challenging and life changing for me. I was raised by my Grandparents they did everything for me so this was a wakeup call for me on life. An independent person was not I, so I had problems with the changes about to come. Army life is constantly demanding and constantly changing without notice. Although the travel was exciting, army life for me was very challenging because I had to learn to adapt to a new system, to share my life with other soldiers, and to give up many of the comforts of home.