I was born into a military family. My father was at Fort Bragg on a training exercise when I was born and didn't even know of my existence until I was three days old.
During my childhood, I traveled the world, living in a wide variety of locales; from Bangkok, Thailand and Honolulu, Hawaii to Fort Monmouth, New Jersey and Fort Gordon, Georgia. I have lived in or visited almost every state in the Union and many foreign countries.
Growing up in a military family is often difficult, especially during the teen years. If I was enrolled in the same school two years in a row, I was lucky. This made forming lasting friendships very problematic, as I never knew when we would be leaving an area. I learned to make friends quickly, but I never really formed lasting attachments to any of my new friends, even my "best" friends. I remember faces and good times, but the names and places escape me now.
I remember the loneliness of always being "the new kid" and the teasing of classmates because I "talked funny." Although outwardly I appeared very extroverted, inside was a shy, bookish, eager to please little girl. I would observe the way my classmates acted and tried desperately to emulate them, inwardly hating myself for not having the courage to be exactly who I truly was. It seems that I was always trying to be what I thought other people wanted me to be that I lost any sense of self. I developed an extremely low self-esteem, a problem that continues to haunt me even in my adult years.
Because my father was a battalion commander, our household was strong on discipline. My father was quick to punish for even the smallest breach of protocol, but he was not as strict with me, because I was always his favorite. My mother, who was just as big on discipline as my father, used a different form of punishment...she resorted to what my brother, sister and I came to refer to as the "Oriental Guilt Trip Therapy." To this day, I refer to my mother as The Southeastern Regional Distributor for guilt. No matter what I did, it was never good enough to meet her standards. Although I was an honor student and was considered "gifted," to her, I was unambitious, simply because I didn't have the same dreams for my life that she felt I should have.
My childhood experiences weren't all gloomy, though. Before we moved to a new area, my parents would take us to the new place before we moved and we would explore the place and learn its history and customs. I think that my interest in history began in those early recon expeditions. The constant travel made me appreciate the idea of having roots in a place. Although I enjoy traveling, to this day I have a deep need for a "home base" that is unchanging. I don't even like to rearrange my living room furniture because of my deep need for permanence.
All in all, being a military brat has helped me become the person I am today. I learned to appreciate what I have and the importance of tolerance. I learned to look beyond the outward appearances and the differences to find the commonalities. I developed an ability to adapt to change quickly and to go with the flow. I learned how to accept things and to change what I could. Most importantly, though, I learned how to appreciate the little things that so many people take for granted.