2024/Piper-

I am lucky, along with 1.6 million other kids, to be a military child. Unlike others, we are resilient and used to change, culturally aware, and understand sacrifice for our country more than others. Even though we are very lucky, being a military brat is not as great as you think. There is good and bad.

As a military child, I am used to constant change. My family has to move every 1–8 years. I have lived in Georgia, Idaho, Utah, gone back to Idaho, Oklahoma, Washington D.C., California, and now in Okinawa, Japan. Me and my fellow military kids are also more culturally aware than others. We get to explore the world and learn/experience other cultures. I moved to Japan in July 2023. We get to experience and learn about Japanese culture while we are here, along with other countries' cultures that we travel to. We also understand sacrifice, unlike others. My dad has had friends who have died in the military during battle. I don’t think my friends who aren’t in the military fully understand what the military is like. This is a good thing, but it can sometimes be upsetting when something happens in the military. It’s a good thing that we understand.

On the flip side, being a military kid is not so…“fun”. Every so often, we move to a location that we aren’t happy about. I was not excited to move to Washington DC when I moved there. We kids have to leave our school, our friends, and go to a brand new place. All my friends from California got to stay friends and go to middle school, whereas I had to move here. Not to mention that moving takes forever. We sometimes need to ship thousands of pounds across the ocean. When we moved to Japan, it took two months to get our stuff and move into our house.

Like a lot of things in life, being a military child has pros and cons. I am lucky to live in Japan, but I had to leave my friends to get here. Being a military child has good and bad.