As a kid, I moved around a lot. Not as much as some, but way more than others. My father was in the Air Force, and like most military brats, I grew up living on Air Force bases around the country. Attending college with a bunch of civilians, it is hard to answer most questions pertaining to my dependent life. Base life is very community oriented. The events that occurred after Sept. 11, 2001 really described what community truly was. It has a different meaning than just living in close proximity to each other in the suburbs.

Having lived on McGuire Air Force Base during the attacks, I got a first hand look at how friends became family. The base was closed, and not a soul walked outside for fear we were next. With everyone's parents, including my father, preparing to deploy for months on end, it was even more devastating. Friends lost parents and loved ones on an almost weekly basis. Single parents were deployed, leaving other military mothers banding together to raise their children while they were fighting for our freedom.

The sense of community was not only a blessing, but essential. I am forever grateful for not only those who fought overseas, but also the parents who took on both roles and had to raise their children without their spouses. My neighbor’s children lived with another neighbor in my court while she was deployed. You wouldn’t find that kind of solidarity off base and proves you have to be a special kind of person to be a military spouse or child.

After moving off base, I looked back on base living and realized how differently everything ran. There was a culmination of different accents, cultures, and ways of life all blended together into one community. It is a subculture, really, following normal societal rules, but completely different than the rest of normal culture. There are idiosyncrasies on the Air Force base that you would never find off base. If you’ve lived on one, or you were close with someone who has, all of these will ring true for you.

1. When you say “Commissary” in conversation

And you have to explain that no, it is not like "Orange is the New Black" and you haven’t been in jail, that’s just where you buy groceries.

2. When you get sick and people nonchalantly say “Go to the doctor!”

And you have to explain that one just can’t go to the doctor's office on base because TriCare doesn’t work like that. You have to wait weeks for an appointment.

3. When you’re spelling something using the phonetic alphabet

And you have to explain that is how it is done on base, you’re not that weird. "You mean, E as in Ernie?" "No! E as in Echo!"

4. You’ve become an excellent packer

And can do so with a limited amount of time.

5. You’re good at saying goodbye to your friends

They’re surprised that you’re taking it so well, but truth is, you’ve done this more than once.

6. When people try to ask you where you’re from

You struggle with the answer in your head, so you just say, “Everywhere.” Or, you try to narrow it down to where you were born, where you spent your childhood, where you lived the longest, or where you currently reside.

7. When you’re meeting a civilian’s parents for the first time

They tell you their name, and you add “Miss” or “Mister” to their first name. This is how you were raised, but your friends just look at you weird. “No, not Miss Wendy, just Wendy.” Oh, they’ll never understand.

8. Phrases like “O-Dark-Thirty” and “1700 Hours” make sense to you

And you know to stop everything you’re doing at 1700 Hours for Retreat.

9. You have probably traveled in jump seats

Wearing your winter jacket, in a cargo hold. If you’re lucky, you could probably sit in the cockpit with the pilots.

10. Living on base with your driver’s license

It means you probably know how to pump your own gas, and in the state of New Jersey, you can surprise all of your civilian friends with your gas pumping skills.

11. Your eventual freak-out over the loss of your base privileges

Which happens at age 23. “But where else am I going to get super cheap gas and groceries?”

12. You’ve had a childhood filled with loss, new beginnings, and culture shock

So, you’re extremely adaptable. You probably haven’t had the most “traditional” upbringing, but you wouldn’t change it for the world.