It's the same thing every time I meet a new person. The inevitable question; "where are you from?" comes up. Now this can go one or two ways. Sometimes it is a wonderful conversation starter, especially when you run into a fellow military brat. And I tell you what; nothing has been better for meeting people in college than being able to say "I'm from Montana". Even though I lived there one year, people get this perception of a cowgirl sweetheart who just learned about the magic of electricity, and that is fun to play off of.
My favorite thing to do when meeting new people is not mention that I was a military brat and then when people start talking about all these places they have visited, I can usually chime in two or three times with "oh I lived there, it's beautiful!" After about the 3rd time you start to get some funny looks.
Then there is the second route of conversation. Someone asks where you're from and as you start to explain, you start to see their eyes glaze over. At this point I just wrap it up and realize that it was just a polite conversation starter and they were not expecting you to start listing the fifty states to them.
The follow up question is usually the hardest though, "So where was your favorite place to live?" Well you already know my least favorite if you read my last blog :) But my favorite can be divided into so many categories; most beautiful, most calm, most exciting, most cultured, best friends, best food, etc. If you think about it, that is a pretty lucky thing. Not many people get the pick of the states to decide which is their favorite. Some people never even have the opportunity to leave the state they were born in. This is what I think about whenever I grow resentful of the fact that I don't have a "hometown" or friends that I've known since diapers. I have a country, and one that I can be proud of because I've had the opportunity to explore all of it's beautiful nooks and crannies.
No, nothing is ever easy when you grow up moving around every couple years. Registering to vote, getting a drivers license, transferring credits, grades and medical records, finding a school where you will be happy AND not have to pay out of state tuition, the list goes on. But what comes with your long list of residencies is a much deeper appreciation for the country your parent works so hard to defend and a whole lot of perspective; that will be incredibly beneficial to you for the rest of your life.
So now I ask you: Where has been your favorite place to live?? Comment below!
See if you can match up these pictures with their states! (If you've known my family for a while, my age in the pictures might help you) I'll post the answers in my next blog. **Not pictured: Alabama