8 Things Military Kids Can Relate To

photo by WalkerLeighPhotography

Military kids are different than normal kids and (SURPRISE) we have experienced different lives than most. If you’ve never been friends with someone who has moved around with a military family, here are some things that you may not know and some things that college students who have grown up in a military family may relate to.

1. Military kids cannot answer the “where are you from?” question.

The classic college class first day question: Where are you from? We could pick one place … but oftentimes, we military kids have no idea where we are from. You might hear from me that I am from Colorado while someone else might hear that I am from Utah. Military kids have spent their lives living in places for three or four years each. I guess we could answer that we are from the city we were born in, but it’s likely we only lived there for a couple of years.

2. Military kids are home-schooled at one point or another.

Sometimes, places we lived in did not have sufficient schools (by our parents’ standards), so we were home-schooled. A home-schooled military kid experiences some interesting home-school groups too. Ask us how weird some of our friends were! (Just kidding) We have also probably attended several schools, including private, public and sometimes international schools.

3. We have experienced some pretty interesting people and places.

The life of military kids provides a lot of opportunities to meet interesting folks from other states, countries and walks of life … We may have been forced into meeting a lot of these people but it’s taught us a lot about how to understand other cultures. We learn how to talk to people, how to ease awkward conversations and how to understand accents!

4. We military kids have a difficult time keeping in touch with friends when we move.

Moving a lot can be fun, but it can also be really, really hard. Having friends in a million different cities is overwhelming. We can’t possibly keep up with the great friends we have made while traveling, at least not very well. It’s nice to have Facebook for the occasional “catch-up” message with people you connected with, but I know that it’s still hard to remember to catch up with everyone. We also don’t get attached as easily. We have had a best friend or group of best friends in every city we’ve lived in, but we may no longer speak to any of them often. It’s a pretty normal thing for us to detach from the last city we lived in and re-attach to a new one.

5. We have a difficult time knowing how to talk to people who have grown up in one place all their life.

I’ve had chats with some military kids who are friends of mine and we agree it’s hard to relate to people who have not lived in a bunch of places like we have. The “where are you from” question for them is easy and they have best friends they’ve grown up around. We don’t have that and it’s a totally different perspective. It’s not like we can’t be friends with those folks, but it takes a little more effort on our part to think of how to relate.

6. A lot of us have never had a desire to be in the military … Nope, not even a little.

Some military kids are wonderfully motivated to serve their country and go to the Air Force Academy or join the military right out of high school … but some (like me) would like to be as far away from it as possible as soon as they go off to college. I can honestly say I’m jealous of the community that people who settle in one place have, and I want that. Sure, I want to travel, but I want the community that comes with staying in one place and I want the great friends that I see daily.

7. We don’t have an accent!

I don’t know where I’m from. Therefore no accent. I’ve lived in the west, the mid-west, the south, and Europe, so my voice is just a voice. It doesn’t have a southern twang and I don’t use European vocabulary. We also don’t do that silly thing where people start talking like the people they hang around. (Don’t ever do that, folks. Be yourself.)

8. If we have lived overseas, we have learned that roundabouts and public transportation are THE TWO MOST LOGICAL THINGS EVER.

Guys. Roundabouts are so important. Learn how to use them. If there aren’t any where you live, Google it. One day they will be everywhere and you will crash your car if you don’t at least know how they work. They keep the flow of traffic going smoothly (if used correctly) and they should really be everywhere. In addition, public transportation is one of the ways that you can save the environment (or at least help it stay clean for a little longer) and it’s basically the only way you get around in Europe. It’s so wonderful. Don’t be surprised when you hear a military kid complain about the United States’ lack of public transportation.
In conclusion, I thought this article would be useful for those of you who are not used to moving around to get a little bit of insight into how military kids have experienced life. I also wanted other military kids out there attending college, to know that they aren’t alone.