Clara R...
Ramstein Intermediate School
My Amazing Military Child Adventures Being a military child can be hard, but it can also be an amazing experience. I have been a military child for my whole life, and there are pros and cons about it. When you are a military child, you have to move a lot. I have moved 4 or 5 times so far, and soon it will be 6 and then 7. But that is fine, because I get to explore cool places, eat different yummy foods, and make many new friends. I also have to know that my dad will not be with us all the time. He gets deployed and goes on work trips a lot. But still, I’ve had amazing experiences, and I will tell you all about them! I was born in California, but only lived there for like a year. Then we moved to Oklahoma, but I can’t remember much about there! My sister was born there. After that we moved to Oregon, and it was hard because my dad had to work a lot there, and I couldn’t play with him as much. The good thing was that my family and I lived in a pretty pink house, (which was good at the time because pink was my favorite, favorite, favorite color at the time) and we had nice neighbors and friends. Now, the military mostly always tells you what to do, where to go. Most of the time, you have no control over those things. But sometimes, that is a good thing! When I was three or four years old, the military had us go to Okinawa, Japan. I actually had no idea what Japan was. I actually thought it was a lady in a kimono until my dad started to try to teach me the language! ‘Konichiwa’ is how you say hello. Anyways, we moved there and stayed there for four years. My dad kept going on work trips, and the sad thing was that he missed birthdays and holidays because of those trips, and because of that deployment he had there. We also were really far away from our family, too. But the good things were that my adorable little brother was born there, we got to taste delicious foods, explore many places, we had great friends and neighbors, and a good school where I met a few people that are in my classroom today. When I was eight years old, the military finally gave us a choice. We could stay in Japan…or move to GERMANY! That was so exciting. Of course, because all of my family wanted to try something new, we decided to move to Germany. Germany was amazing, but my dad kept having to go on trips. There were many hard things, and I missed my old friends from Okinawa. There are good things too, because we got to travel so much! I was so happy! I have probably been to more than 20 countries. Way more! I have also made friends that I first met in Okinawa. Some of them are in my classroom! I have gotten to try new foods, explore new places, and make new friends. I will never forget Germany, even though I will have to move away from it in about 6 months. I know that I can do it, though! Like I said before, being a military connected child can be very hard, but there are many good things to it! A military child has to be brave and resilient. We have to know how to look for the good in things that are bad. We have to be prepared for the unknown, and we have to understand that we could lose loved ones in it. Most importantly, we have to push through bravely. —Clara R.