2023/Kolaiah-

My name is Kolaiah Lovgren, and though I live on a military base in Japan, neither of my parents are active-duty military. I arrived in Iwakuni, Japan in June 2018 and was about to start 5th grade. I grew up most of my life in Oregon having little to no information about what life was like on a military base other than what I have heard from one of my oldest brothers who is in the Army and has gone to places like Bagdad. When I first got to Japan, it was a huge culture shock. I quickly realized that moving to a foreign country and to a base that I knew nothing about was harder than I imagined. I have always struggled to make friends and I wasn't as accustomed to being able to easily make new friends, or even being able to handle change, as well as the kids whose parents were active duty. After a little while I made friends and suddenly I was already in 6th grade. Then COVID hit. I soon developed severe social anxiety which I still suffer from now. I was already feeling like I didn't fit in, especially during the Month of the Military Child, given that my parents aren't active duty. The projects that we did in class during the Month of the Military Child made me feel left out as some of the topics didn't relate to me. Even now, I struggled to write about my experiences. But I have now realized that even though my parents aren't active duty, I still go through some of the same things that military children do. I realized that no matter what the uniform or title, both my parents and their parents serve our country; it is just in different ways. Now my family is getting ready to PCS, and while there were those times I felt I didn’t belong, I have made many friends and have made this place my home. After five years here, I am going to miss this place.