Resilience Jacob Isler

If I had to describe the culture of my family in one word, it would be "resilient." Every year, my father gets a new assignment... fight in the skies above Iraq, train future pilots in Mississippi, advise a four star general in Hawaii, and now, command an entire base in Texas. There is a motto in our branch of the military: "Home is where the Air Force sends us." True to this sentiment, regardless of the disposition of my father's new assignment, my family fights to remain strong. When orders come, we move, leaving behind our friendships and worldly attachments, but always taking a little bit of that place's culture with us.

This transient lifestyle is not new to my parents. My mother is a product of the Vietnam war, born in Da Nang to a native mother and a U.S. Army officer before they immigrated to America and raised her, like me, as a military brat. My own father had a similar upbringing, living with his Army chaplain dad even during extended deployments in Panama before joining the force himself. Being raised in military households taught my parents to embrace the lifestyle they now choose to have. When given orders, one must accept them and make do with what one is given. Growing up in a household that upholds this...