The Pros and Cons of Being an Army Brat

Hey guys! It’s Emma again!

In the last month, I crocheted these lovely little dolls for Kate & Julia’s cousins, Abbey and Maddey. They wanted them to look like “princess versions of themselves”, and that’s what I made! I’m so happy with how they turned out, and the girls love them.

 

I’m still working on a custom order for our Etsy shop, and I should have pictures of the finished product up next month! I am also hoping to put several new listing up on our etsy shop soon!

In other news, I’ll have a new little brother by Novemeber 5^th! If my mom doesn’t give birth to Evan before then, she’ll be induced.

This month, I’ll be talking about being an army brat! So without further ado, here is my newest blog post!

The Pros and Cons of Being an Army Brat

When I was 7, my dad joined the Army and did some schooling to become a Chaplain. We moved from Illinois to Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Since then, life has been an adventure! I’ve lived in 6 states and a foreign country! I’ve also been able to visit many different places, like state parks, national monuments and landmarks in America as well as other countries.

Because of the army, I’ve been able to snorkel in Hawaii and climb the Great Wall of China. Because of things like that, I absolutely love being in the army, but there are many more pros and cons as well, which is why I decided to write this post.

Pros:

1.       You get to make & have friends everywhere

Because of moving, I have lost several friendships, but you really figure out who the great friends are when they keep communication with you. I’ve become pretty good at maintaining long distance relationships with really wonderful people. I meet one of my best friends, Ashley more than 2 years ago. We lived really close to each other for 6 months and then we both moved, but we still keep in contact, and I love her to pieces!

2.       You get to taste new/different foods

After trying clam chowder in Monterey, California, it became one of my new favorite foods! I’ve even had real Chinese food in China, but have also eaten at some of the best Chinese food in America. While living in the south, I fell in love with sweet tea. I’ve also had a nice assortment of food oddities, such as deep fried Snickers, bacon soda,

3.       You get to see the world!

I kind of already talked about this in my entry, but it’s one of the best parts of being in the army. I know some people who have stayed in the same place for a while, but I know plenty of people who have seen more of the world then I have because of the army. I love the road trips we take to get to our new assignment! Even if we just drive through states and don’t stop a lot, it’s still a great experience.

4.       You find new things to do where you move

Every place we move to has plenty of sight seeing, and we do our best to see a decent amount of what that place has to offer.

5.       You become a master at unpacking

The army does provide for packers to come and box everything up, but we have to do the unpacking part. I’ve become really good and figuring out where my furniture will go in any new house, and I can unpack and put away pretty quickly.

6.       All bases have similarities, so something is consistent

If my family moved around a lot not in the army, I think I would go insane. Just the fact that all bases have a commissary and a Chapel Next keeps me ok. I also love living on base because everyone gets what it feels like to move around a lot!

 

 

Cons:

1.       Pets

When you are in the army, having pets becomes a little more…..interesting.  When my dad first joined the army, we moved from Illinois to North Carolina, which meant that I had to get rid of all my cats! Then when we moved to Korea, our Uncle watched our dog, Chewy and lizard, Leo. When we came back to the states 2 years later, we got Leo back, but not Chewy. I brought my hamsters (Dr. Pepper and Sprite) on the long drive from California to South Carolina, with several stops in between, only to have them die the first day we were in South Carolina.

2.       You have to leave friends and family.

Right now I live 5 hours away from Kate and Julia, and that is the closest we’ve been since joining the army! That in itself is terrible, but I hate saying goodbye to friends every time we move. I’ve met so many awesome people, but moving away from them is the worst.

3.       You have no (or very little) control over where you move to

Whenever we need to move, my dad writes out his top places that he wants to move to, and gives it to whatever army people decide where to move us. So my dad does have some input, but that doesn’t mean that the whole family is content. I really didn’t want to move to Colorado (although I love it now, and I don’t want to move). When we moved from North Carolina and California, I was ready!

 

I hope you enjoyed my blog post, and that you learned something new about military life!