2023/Jack -

I’ve always been shocked at the people who spend their entire life in one town. Born in one town. Goes to school in one town. Works in one town. Grows old in one town. Dies in one town. It’s a concept so foreign to me as a military child, a child who is constantly moving every two to three years. How can somebody be satisfied with staying in one place, barely seeing the world?

Being a military child I can move around the globe. I can see different cultures, different countries. As a military child, I don’t have to stay in one place. My memories are spread out across the world. From Japan to Washington, I have seen the Earth. I have had the opportunities that someone who spends their life in one place can only dream of. I do not pretend that being a military child does not come with challenges, that it does not come without sacrifices. My father leaves for half a year, I routinely uproot my life, and so many birthdays, holidays, and anniversaries are missed. Nonetheless, I have the opportunity that no one else has: to see the world. And I would trade that for nothing.