Being a military brat definitely has its challenges. We grow up in foreign places and learn things very differently compared to other families. Military families have a different way of operating. We have a completely different outlook on life. You can probably relate to this even if you were just raised to be overly self-sufficient. We find joy in many places and many things, even the really little, simple things.

One of those things that bring us joy and laughter just happens to be civilian kids. Secretly, we think you’re hilarious and abnormal creatures. Your ways of doing things are foreign to us and sometimes we don’t understand it. You all have us laughing literally around the entire world but especially in college.

1. Doing your own laundry

I’ve done my own laundry since the third grade. I was honestly so shocked when I came to college and realized some people don’t even know how to use a washer. It was even funnier when they put the detergent in the wrong place, or they put wayyyy too much and there were bubbles everywhere.

2. They never had to cook for themselves

This one is a little more understandable. However, like doing my own laundry, my siblings and I were assigned to make dinner a certain number of times during the week for my family since my parents were too busy.

The amount of times the fire alarm goes off in college because someone has forgotten the water in their ramen noodles is actually a little ridiculous. Hilarious, but definitely mind-boggling.

3. Waking themselves up

I set one singular alarm on my phone and wake up to it, as I have done for years. In college, the girl down the hall, or maybe someone who lives in a completely different building, will ask me to make sure they’re up! I would hate to rely on someone for something like that. Even to this day, it makes me chuckle when I can hear someone else’s alarms going off in the morning, especially if it been going off for a while.

4. Timeliness

I was never allowed to be late. In fact, if I wasn’t fifteen minutes early, I was late. While walking around campus I hear students complaining, “I was only 10 minutes late and my professor wouldn’t let me take the exam!” Well yeah…. You were late. There’s a set time for a reason. You’re gonna have to get used to that.

5. Critical thinking

This definitely shouldn’t be just a military brat thing but in a lot of the situations I have been in I have found that those of us who have dealt with difficult times have an easier time coming to a consensus. Most of us know what needs to get done and we know how to do it effectively and efficiently.

6. Making friends is hard

For most of us military brats, it’s really easy to make friends. Unlike Jessica-Lou, we haven’t been friends with the same people since pre-k. Our best friends moved or we moved every four years. That’s just how the cookie crumbled. We learned to be extroverts and find common interests with any and everyone. Luckily, a lot of these friendships become long distance and life-long. And hey, what’s cooler than visiting your best friend in a foreign country?

7. You have to contact your parents when it’s necessary

Military kids don’t get to call their parents for every little thing. Our parents were busy fighting a war, protecting people, building tanks, or getting ready to deploy- we didn’t get to call. Calling your parents to check up is nice but maybe your mom doesn’t care that you broke a nail. If your financial aid is messed up or you might lose your scholarship you should definitely call your parents just in case, but you don’t have to talk about what you had for breakfast.

8. You have to learn separation tactics

Most civilian kids have been with their parents their entire lives. Maybe you went on vacation with a friend for a week but you usually weren’t gone for too long. During my first semester away at college, a girl I know cried every day for two months because she missed her family. There are also kids who cry and complain about not going home every weekend. I know it’s hard being away from your family but I promise it gets easier with time.

You learn to cope with the distance and you find little things to distract you and help the time pass. Some of us military kids don’t get to go home during the entire school year- we just live too far away. Some of us only get to go home for Christmas. I know out of state college students can relate to this one more because it’s too expensive to go home. This is one of those times us military kids put ourselves in our parents' shoes and we see how hard it really was for them to leave us for months or years at a time. Many of us find strength and comfort in that. You need to find what works for you.

9. You need to be prepared

Your parents aren’t there to hold your hand anymore. You have to do your own laundry, get your own food, and wake yourself up. Military kids are usually overly prepared. We have a whole bunch of useless knowledge for just in case because you really never know. Being prepared can mean whatever you want it to, honestly. Whether you take it as having your clothes washed so you don’t have to go commando or doing the extra reading just in case there’s a pop quiz- be prepared.

10. Only bring what you need

It makes me laugh when I hear people talking about going home for the weekend and discussing all the clothes they’re bringing back with them. Do you really NEED all of those clothes? Absolutely not. You also don’t need 300 pairs of shoes but that’s none of my business. Military kids are used to moving around a lot. We only brought what we really needed. It was a quick, rational decision and anything we might need we could always purchase at the next place we lived. I’m not saying we don’t value things, we all have a special something. Military kids just know when it’s time to let go and move on.

11. Accepting the hand you’re dealt

Maybe things aren’t going your way and throwing a fit would work when you were at home. Unfortunately for most military kids that just wasn’t the case. We had to accept our fate. Ohhhh you didn’t study hard enough and you failed your exam? Try one of your parents being gone for a year and missing every holiday imaginable. I wish a tantrum would’ve worked then. You win some you lose some. Now I’m not saying don’t try for what you want but somethings you just can’t fight. Whatever life throws at you, I hope you go down swinging, don’t let life strike you out.

12. Appreciate your loved ones

Military kids care about their loved ones just like any civilian kid. But I think we definitely appreciate our loved ones more. I only say this because, for those of us who did get a phone call every now and then, the conversation didn’t always end the way we wanted.

Sometimes it ended with your dad yelling goodbye as he ran for cover or your mom telling you she loved you no matter what and then you would hear loud booms and the call would end abruptly.

You never know how much time you have with someone, take full advantage of the opportunities you get to hang out with your family and friends. And don't get mad when you see us laughing at you for getting mad about something that isn't too serious.

13. Realizing who’s actually worth it

You realize who is worth it. When I hear a college kid complain about not seeing their significant other every weekend I can’t help but laugh. Now I'm not saying we're laughing at the fact that you miss someone. We're laughing because we don't think you actually know what it's like to TRULY miss someone.

Being a military kid I witnessed the highs and lows of my parent's relationship while my father was gone. It was hard on all of us. I could only imagine the emotions my mother had throughout all of his deployments. But hey, look at them now, almost 30 years and still madly in love. You make the effort for those you care about. Distance means absolutely nothing when your heart belongs to another soul. You find a way and you make it work.