Learning new things

Now that we have lived here almost two weeks, and I have a full work week (+2 days) under my belt, I thought I'd write about a few things that I have learned since moving here.

- I think that I will always get butterflies every time I go onto base. I have always loved working on base, and every time I arrive at the gate, I get a little wave of excitement… I hope this feeling never goes away.

- It is absolutely unheard of that, at the age of 26 and 23, Mitchell and I are not married yet. Regardless of me never wearing a ring, and no matter how many time I remind people that Mitchell is my boyfriend, he is still referred to as my husband pretty much 100% of the time. Mostly because military families marry very young.

- Anyone who knows me knows that I have been trying to get a job with the military for about 5 years now. I was always turned down, even when I had interviews for jobs that I was overqualified for. This is likely because preference is given to veterans, military spouses, ect.  The case is the same here – meaning I’m constantly being asked if my “husband” (see last bullet ;) )is active duty, or if I used to be active duty. Almost everyone I work with is associated with the military somehow and I can’t begin to tell you how many strange looks I have gotten when people ask me why I came here. I use that as a daily reminder of how lucky I am to have gotten the job of my dreams.

- There are people here from every single state. This means you can be in a room full of people and hear about 5 different accents within a 5 minute conversation. It also means that some people are very welcoming, while others are not. The first day I met my boss, the first thing she asked me was what I knew about the military. I explained that while I had never been active duty, that I was involved with Camp Adventure, where I'd had the opportunity to live on several different military bases and engage with a lot of active duty personnel. She laughed at me and told me I knew nothing. I asked another co-worker a question about the schedule, and after answering my question, she asked me if I had “any other pressing questions?” I don’t think that these people were trying to be mean – they just don’t sugar coat anything, and it has been quite an adjustment! Others aren’t quite so harsh, thankfully!

- Having people from every different state means that you have drivers from every different state. Our 5th night here, we were in a drive through and someone literally backed right up and hit us. While we were waiting for the police officer to show up, we witnessed an accident at the intersection. I can about guarantee that the car I drove here won't be the one that I'll be driving back home when we decide to move back. 

- When you are more tied to the military, you find yourself a lot more attached to issues that face this country. After only one week, I already find myself reading more news articles, paying more attention to politics, and just paying more attention. Especially when American Sniper is such a big movie right now.

- One of the managers asked me what brought me here. When I explained that I've always wanted to work with the military, he asked me why. The military is entirely a world of its own - from the first time I set foot on base in Key West, I knew I loved it. When I explained this to him, he told me that his son has a way of describing it. It's kind of like college where you are parallel to the real world. Sometimes you enter the real world, but all in all, you aren't really a part of it. It really is hard to describe, and that statement might not make any sense, but it is so true.

I still feel so lucky for the opportunity to be here, in North Carolina, working a job that I have always wanted. One that I wasn’t sure I’d ever get. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to remind me it’s real :)