Words of Advice from a Military Kid Who’s Been There, Done That and Got WAY More Than a T-Shirt!
Kenzie Hall, Operation Homefront’s 2014 Army Military Child of the Year and founder of Brat Pack 11 for military kids, joins us to celebrate military kids with a special blog in April, Month of the Military Child and offers words to inspire all members of the military family.
Being a military kid is an experience truly like no other. You get to travel all over the world, experience opportunities that most civilian kids never will, and make a bunch friends from all the schools you attend.
However, being a military kid isn’t always easy. There’s the lengthy deployments, and not knowing if your parent, who is deployed, will be coming home. There’s saying goodbye to your new best friends and your home every couple of years. And military kids are more aware of what’s going on in the world, the good and the bad, at a very young age.
On top of having to deal with the military lifestyle and all of the struggles that come with it, you also have to handle the normal day-to-day struggles that come with just being a kid or a teenager. I didn’t live on many military installations so I attended public schools most often. Most public school kids don’t have parents in the military and they can’t grasp the struggles you’re faced with, sometimes on a daily basis. You feel like you don’t really have anyone to relate to and you can feel quite lonely during these times. I moved 14 times and attended 12 different schools. At one point, I attended three schools in one year.
Personally, I had trouble making new friends when switching schools because everyone else had known each other most of their lives. There was an abundance of cliques who simply just didn’t want you to break into their tight-knit group. I won’t sugarcoat it, school was sometimes rough and some people were flat out mean. The bullies are real and plentiful, and some will even disguise themselves as your friend. Being a kid or a teenager is hard enough, but sprinkling the military lifestyle on top of that can make life seem like a constant uphill battle.
Being born into this lifestyle wasn’t a choice that I consciously made, but it is one I wouldn’t change. If being a military kid taught me anything, it was how to deal with adversity. It showed me that I could handle anything. And believe it or not, so can you! This lifestyle showed me over and over again that every situation was temporary, and I had the ability to affect my circumstances.
As I said before, I didn’t get the chance to bond with many other military kids. However, when I was awarded the Army Military Child of The Year by Operation Homefront in 2014, I met four other teens who had lived the same way I did and who had experienced some of the same struggles. I no longer felt alone. Operation Homefront created a support group for 5 kids without even realizing it. Ryan, Gage, Michael-Logan, Juanita, and I still talk from time to time, and we even catch up through Skype.
Even though I was running a 501(c)3 non-profit organization called Brat Pack 11 that granted wishes to military kids of wounded and fallen Soldiers, I left the MCOY Gala feeling as though I wasn’t doing enough. That is how inspired I was by these other outstanding military teens.
I had a hard time convincing some adults that I could make a difference at age 11, but winning Operation Homefront’s award motivated my vision for Brat Pack 11. Their recognition of my efforts was a huge affirmation that I was doing something right. Three years later, Operation Homefront continues to support my mission to help my fellow military brats. I’m forever grateful for Operation Homefront’s support of myself and Brat Pack 11. Their guidance and mentorship is something I will always treasure.
If there was one piece of advice I would offer, it would be to always listen to your positive inner voice; the one that tells you, “you can do it!”; even when others don’t see it in you. Your success is dependent on a high level of motivation mixed with an unshakeable belief in yourself. Age means nothing! You are never too young to chase your dreams or to make your ideas come to life. You have a voice, so let it be heard! Don’t fall for the lie that you are too young or that you are not enough. Because on the other side of that fear is your dream. Operation Homefront’s, MCOY Award is a terrific program that amplifies the voice of our military youth and supports their efforts to have a positive impact in our World, regardless of age. If you have a passion for what you are doing, and back it with tenacity and drive, you can accomplish almost anything. I’ll leave you with my favorite quote,
“If you think you’re too small to make an impact, try sleeping with a mosquito in the room.” ~Anonymous
