My life has constantly been changing since I was two years old just because of three words. “I’m being deployed.” These words are life altering and being told that phrase as many times as I did growing up, I knew the familiar waves of emotion all too well. I could recognize the words before they even formed out of my dad’s mouth. Being able to understand that a deployment isn’t just a short trip overseas, its months, maybe more than a year of being away from home. That concept was so hard for me to grasp as a kid and till this day I am still short of grasping the idea of my dad being gone for so long. Throughout the five times my dad has been deployed, his last deployment was probably the worst one for me to experience. It was two years ago, he left during the summer right before my junior year. The day had come for my mom and me to take my dad to the airport. Piles of desert camouflage luggage crowded around us as we waited for my dad to check in for his flight. I constantly saw people glance over at my family and one lady even gave me a half- hearted smile. Maybe it was her way of cheering me up or maybe she was smiling out of sadness. As we sat on the uncomfortable bench, my parents were silent, just sitting and waiting. The constant sounds of scanning and people’s murmured voices echoed throughout the lobby at the airport. …show more content…
The second lesson my mom taught me was, “no matter how challenging life may get, there is always someone who is in a worse situation.” No matter the discouragement or disappointment I had felt during these scenarios I was able to use the philosophy my mom told and fly through junior year. Some days were worse than others but I knew it could always be worse. During the time my dad was gone, I grew as an individual not only in my appearance, but with how to cope with fear, sadness and just live