2023/Michael-

Have you ever been to a place where it is lush and tropical? Have you tried exotic fruits and gone to beautiful lands? Well if you have, you might be a military child in Okinawa! Okinawa is the best place I've been to! There are beautiful smells of the flowers, amazing food, and peaceful coral reefs. Being a military child is amazing!

There are so many parts I like about being a military child. I get to explore new lands and try new things, like Tsukemen dipping noodles, which I got to try because I live in Okinawa. It’s also really cool you can run into old friends. For example, I met two of my classmates in Quantico, Virginia, and ran into them again in Okinawa! That's pretty crazy if you ask me. I also like making new friends.

Now let's talk about the sad part about being a military child. Sometimes one of your parents goes on deployment. When my dad went on deployment for six months to Sicily, I missed him a lot. I would call him every day. When he came back, I didn’t recognize him much, but then after a little bit, I knew it was my dad. It’s also hard when you lose best friends. I lost my best friend because I had to move to Okinawa and he stayed in Virginia.

Even though there are good things and bad things about being a military child, I’m happy that’s the job my dad picked!