Tenth grade geometry is where I meet Griffin, a cute football player that had no idea what to do when it came to talking to girls or when it came to math. By the time he had gotten the nerve to ask me to the homecoming dance, I was head over heels. Three years quickly went by. During that time, we were on and off but always friends. When he told me he was seriously considering joining the Army I didn’t know what to say, he was my best friend and all I could think about was that he was leaving me. When we graduated he wore his Army sash and I wore mine for National Honors Society. I thought that saying goodbye to him at the end of the summer would be the hardest thing that I would have to do but starting my freshman year of college without him was worse. There were so many things that I wanted to be able to tell him about and so many more that I wanted him there for. Not having my best friend by my side proved more difficult than I had ever expected.

But even with all of the struggles, dating someone that you are proud of and can brag about to everyone makes it worthwhile. I love to tell people about what he does for our country, how he drives tanks and how much he loves it. Knowing he is happy makes it easier.

Because he started basic training just before I started my freshman year of college, we joke that he just started his freshman year a little before I did. And when you think about it, it does makes sense. He lives in dorm style housing, has a roommate, eats crappy food, and even has to take some college classes. This made it easier for me in the beginning to accept the changes in my life. I went from seeing him every day to saying goodbye to him for months at a time. But then his letters started to come to me at school, giving me insight to his day to day life. I also was able to write to him as much as I wanted/needed to (which helped me) feel as if we were still connected. I started with sending him at least one letter a week. I would tell him about my classes and friends and what was going on around campus. I still have every letter that he wrote to me and I read them when he is out in the field or when I had a long day and he is still at work. Now that he is at his duty station I can talk to him more often and I even get to go visit him.

When we are together everything feels right, like the world is exactly as it should be. Recently he was able to take me on a tour of his base. I was so excited to see where he worked and to meet his friends. Everything I saw made me even more proud of him. He was really becoming his own person; being in the Army has changed him. Even if he hasn’t realized it yet he wakes up earlier, he smiles when he talks about his job, he is more grounded, and he has this sense of pride that didn’t come out as often as it does now (I even think he is a little taller but he says no). His favorite thing to do is to tell stories of when he was out in the field or when he drove his tank into a humvee. And even though I know I will be hearing those stories for a long time, I find myself telling them too and smiling when I think about the look on his face when he talks about them. I miss him every day, but I know that he is happy and that is what matters.