I'm a military brat. I've been stationed in 5 different states so far and I'm moving to the 6th in less than 2 years. People tend to ask me how I've been able to deal with being a military brat. If I'm being completely honest I technically don't. I've successfully adapted to leaving others and being left. I wasn't always the way I am now. I adapted to being like this because of the first time my dad left for work (THE NAVY). With my dad being in the navy he has to go on leave. Going on leave is where you have to leave your family for 6-7 months and constantly travel to fight even tho it might sound safe there's always a chance you won't be able to come back home. And when he's not out on leave he usually has duty where he has to be gone for up to a week or two. My dad had to leave for almost 8 months when I was 7. He had to go to navy boot camp for a few months.I remember how he told me he was leaving .he said “i have to go away for a while For work. I'm going to come back. But as the oldest I need you to take care of your little brother and watch your mom to make sure she is ok. She might be a little sad. I love you. Now I might not be able to call because I'll be out at sea. I won't have service.” Hearing those words of my dad telling me to be strong brought me to tears because I was only 7 but I did my best to hold them in and be dad's strong girl.I held in my tears everyday when i was with him until it was time for him to leave. Then the day unrealistically came and I felt the biggest amount of weight on my chest and had so many painful thoughts running through my head. I gave him the tightest hug and said goodbye. The second the car left the driveway was the second my heart shattered. I cried for weeks waiting for a call from my dad and never got it. I thought I had lost my dad for good So i cried a lot more. A few months later I got a call and it was my dad. I was so happy to hear from him until the service broke and we could not talk for several weeks that consistently happened for months until it was finally time for him to return after being gone for what felt like forever. I was so happy for my dad to be back home but after him being gone and all the pain I felt after that I felt prepared for the next time he had to leave me.A few months passed and we lived in another state. My dad did not have short duty so he was out at sea a lot. He was always gone at this point every other week he would be gone and it eventually began to feel like living with a ghost. Me and my dads started to lose connection and I started to isolate myself with others because reality finally hit and I realized as a military brat I'm going to have to learn to detach so there is not a constant pain that I have to feel when I'm leaving or being left. I started to have to leave every 3 years and it stopped being an issue for me Because of my ability to detach. With that, I'm glad that I learned to detach from others because if I didn't I would constantly feel like I was suffering and in pain. So I guess I do know how to deal with being a military brat. I keep a good emotional distance from others no matter how close we may seem there was a line that i will never let anyone cross and it may seem cruel but as a military brat, I do not regret my decision because I have been able to live life without hurting myself or others so i don't feel like there are any pieces of me missing.