I’ve never known where to say I’m from when I play icebreaker games on the first day of school. My most famous phrase was always “I’ve lived everywhere.” or “I just moved from ___”. Most people would think “Why doesn’t this kid just answer the question?” or “Is she having an identity crisis?”. I’ve moved 6 times in 17 years. I’ve lived overseas, stateside, and on islands. As a military child I’ve learned how to be strong, resilient, how to help others, and so much more. I wouldn’t change my experiences and lessons for the world, but recently, I’ve found myself wishing for a “normal” life and somewhat resenting others who had that. I wanted a place to call home, I wanted to be able to know exactly where I belong and came from, I wanted a childhood home and best friends whom I’d get to go through school with and I was jealous of everyone who had that. When I was about 15 I finally felt like I had a normal life. I was living in Hawaii. I had a group of friends whom I considered family, self-fulfilling hobbies and sports, and I was doing great in school. I finally had that feeling I had been longing for, but then that was all stripped away from me. My family had gotten orders to Hampton, Virginia and we had to leave Hawaii immediately after the order was in. With the COVID restrictions, I barely got to say goodbye to any friends or mentors I had there. We got to Virginia and it seemed everything hit the fan. I found myself longing for that “normal” life once again. While I was in Virginia it felt like I was like falling, like the feeling of nothing getting better. I was in an online school since the school I was zoned for was shut down due to the pandemic, which is not easy for a new kid trying to make friends. After 6 months in Virginia, my dad retired and we all decided to move to Florida and try to get a fresh start. I started my senior year there and again felt myself wishing I was “normal”, but luckily I was able to push that aside and focus on other things. I brought my GPA up, started applying to colleges, and graduated reminiscing on my experiences and using moving as a learning experience. Mentorship is someone always willing to help you, be there for you to help you every step of the way to be successful and reach your goals and someone you can always look up to. Although I didn’t have many mentors who were able to stick with me long, I do have very honorable people in my life who made me who I am today. A lot of those people are moms of fellow military kids, teachers, coaches, and of course my family. I am so grateful for my experiences even if it wasn’t traditional because they taught me so much and put some amazing people in my life whom I will never be able to forget because they made such an impact on my life. Those people made me want to be a mentor to others in need of help, even if it’s just putting a bandaid on a scrape or teaching them ways to ease their moving anxiety or helping them come up with a plan to reach their goals. Being a military kid has made me want to be a mentor for others no matter what is needed, and for that alone, I am eternally grateful.