I'm dating a Marine. That sounds so weird to say, but yet so incredible at the same time.
He got home for his 10 days leave between boot camp and ITB a couple days ago, and as much as anyone close to a Marine hates to say this, he has changed. Some for the better, some for the worse (and when I say worse, I kind of just mean it's weird), but there is a change there.
As a girl with insecurities, I can tell anyone of you that it's by far the hardest thing I've ever dealt with. Not because I don't trust him, but because there's so much unknown. When he left, it was almost guaranteed we would be married within the next few years, but now I'm kind of unsure. He has a completely different life now that I only get a glimpse of. That's terrifying. I'm an over-thinker, so honestly, all of it could just be thoughts trying to ruin my life (lol so typical for me), but at the same time, there are so many what-ifs. Personally, I think we'll be ok, but who knows, 4 years can change a lot. With all this being said, here's my advice to those of you who will have to deal with this:
Take every bit of it in, and try and control your negative thoughts. I'm not a crier, yet I've cried during all of this. Not as much as most would, but yea, it's happened. I've had moments where I wanted to blow up on him, and just end it all because I felt like he didn't want me anymore. You've gotta give it some time, though. After the initial day, I knew I was wrong though, or at least I hope I am. There's just so many people he wants to see, and you can't just have him to yourself. That's the toughest thing to learn because when he left it was all about me. I'll be honest, I was spoiled. Now, I have to share, and that's hard, but it'll be worth it.
He lets me tag along on basically everything he does while he's home, so I really can't complain. So to those of you who are going through this, or about to be going through this, I guarantee you it's gonna be ok. No matter what, everything will wind up the way it's supposed to, and that's what I have to keep telling myself. Life's supposed to be fun. Don't make it more complicated than it should be.