Home Is Where The Army Takes You Analysis

Home Is Where The Army Takes You. How very true this statement is. Homelife was often everywhere and nowhere at the same time for us. We didn't settle roots anywhere. We have never invested in anyplace or with anyone. Sure, my story isn't unique in the enlisted world. Plenty of brats faced the same challenges every day and like me were able to find their own solutions to them. I love meeting new people, going to new places and trying out new things. But I had never been able to meet someone new and answer the simple question, “Where are you from?” without hesitancy. A lot of people have told me they are so glad they did not grow up in this way because they would have hated moving every couple of years. And for a long time, I agreed with them.
Each new place brought a new set of friends, a new set of experiences, and a new set of lessons to be learned. How many kids can say that they had a reset button to push every few years? Each change that would make up who we were, putting pieces here and there and shaping us into the people that we are today. We would walk away with these pieces held tight to us excited for the adventure to come. What we didn’t realize was that we were always leaving pieces behind as well. We lived and breathed that way of life. I found it difficult connecting with people who were not equal to me, I was more disciplined than my peers. Always under constant pressure to conform. It was what was expected of the dependents. I was much more mature, even if it were only in my outward behavior. Strict discipline imposed on my brothers and I at a very early age forced us to behave well beyond what was acceptable to a healthy
I will not ever forget what it was like. How I felt. How I didn't know that I was different. My everyday life was not predictable because predictable routines were unheard of in our childhoods. I was resilient to those. I was always waiting. Waiting for anything. We did have an advantage many other kids did not. We had parents with jobs and steady incomes, health care, and safe, secure living arrangements. But we were also children, and we were navigating a new and strange world every few years. Every time I see a cut flower I know how it feels. It has no roots at all, nothing to anchor it to this world; yet is still expected to share it’s beauty. It’s strange to think about it now and realize how structured everything was. When I tell people about it now, they don’t believe how different my life was. I didn’t even know it myself, then. But it wasn’t like I was living in any neighborhood. Most people didn't grow up in guarded