Things Only Military Kids Understand About School

Normal kids dread the first day of school once. Military kids experience that anxiety every two to three years, sometimes more.

School hallway with lockers

You learn early that “Where are you from?” is the most complicated question anyone can ask. Your birthplace, your home of record, and the state you’ve spent the most time in are three different answers.

Making friends becomes a refined skill. You can walk into any cafeteria, identify the friendly table, and establish a social circle within 48 hours. It’s survival.

The flip side is equally brutal. You’ve said goodbye to best friends more times than you can count. You have friends in every time zone but sometimes feel like you have no friends at all.

Teachers either love you for being adaptable or struggle with your non-linear transcript. Yes, you took Algebra twice. No, you didn’t fail. Different schools, different sequences.

Students walking outside school

But here’s what military kids gain that others don’t: resilience. The ability to adapt. A world perspective that comes from actually seeing the world.

And someday, when someone asks where you’re from, you’ll have the best answer of all: everywhere.