2025/Hyeon Min -30894

What is it like to be a military child? Hi, my name is Hyeon Min Kiriyama, and I was born in South Korea, but my family and I moved to America when my dad joined the military. I was 5 years old when my dad chose to join, and I’m 13 now, so I’ve been a military child for 8 years. During that time, I have gained a lot of experiences with the benefits and challenges. In this personal narrative essay, I will be explaining my thoughts on what being a military child is like.

In my opinion, some of the largest benefits would be that I get to move to different countries, meet new people, and experience various cultures. For example, I am currently living in a military base in Japan, and I had the opportunity to learn a few traditional Japanese dances, try Japanese traditions such as mochi pounding, and I get to learn Japanese. Another advantage is that I get to travel a lot. To illustrate, I was able to visit famous landmarks such as Rome when I lived in Italy. Being in the military also enabled me to make friends and meet so many people from diverse backgrounds.

I would say that some of the hardest challenges are leaving families or pets behind, and parting with friends. I rarely get to see my relatives, and I have said goodbye to multiple close friends. I also have a pet turtle that I probably will have to leave behind when I move. Another challenge is adjusting to new environments when I move because the school I attend, and the house and country I live in will all change. Especially for students in higher grades, switching schools can add pressure, and make it more difficult for them to focus.

After reflecting on the benefits and challenges of being a military child, I have gathered and learned more information. Regarding the benefits and advantages, military children often develop greater adaptability and flexibility due to frequent relocations. They could also appreciate diversity more, because they are often exposed to different cultures. From research, I read that military children can be more resilient and mature and have a sense of duty; though I don’t think that this is true for everyone. Regarding the challenges and disadvantages, there are more that I don’t experience but many others do. For example, many military children are sometimes worried about their parents who have to fight in wars; but not every parent in the military has a dangerous job, like my dad, who is currently a mechanic. Also, military children are often separated from their deployed parent; although I don’t face this challenge because my dad rarely goes on deployments.

In conclusion, I think being a military child could be hard at times, but it comes with good opportunities too. I miss my family and friends a lot, and moving to new places is always difficult. Although it’s hard, it also helped me be more flexible and not so afraid or stressed out because of change. I love getting to travel and experience diversity and different cultures around the world. Overall, I’m proud to be a military brat!