Bloom Where You Are Planted

Lately, I have been seeing a lot of posts within the military community about different military installations mostly focused on the bad aspects. 

We are currently in the summer move cycle and friends are heading to new places and for me it's always interesting to see the thoughts and feelings that are thrown out there. We have been at 4 different posts and all of them have been amazing in their own ways. The funny thing is most people have stated that they feel we got the short end of the stick when it came to where we were sent. 

Here are my thoughts on where we have been:

1. Fort Bragg, NC. We spent 4 years here and it is where we started our married life. We actually consider this place to be our "home". Kyle always had a desire to be Airborne and this is the mecca for those wanting that. We met some of our best friends here and went through 2 deployments that let's face it made us much stronger. Being a part of the 82nd Airborne was intense but it was such an amazing experience for both of us. I learned there that I had a huge passion to volunteering and it changed me. Plus you are close to awesome places like Raleigh, Charlotte, Asheville, Washington D.C. and Myrtle Beach. We definitely made the most of our time here. 

2. Fort Huachuca, AZ. I am pretty sure that unless you know something about the intelligence community in the Army you will likely not know much about Fort Huachuca. I have to say that while we only spent 7 months there it was absolutely amazing! It is located in southern Arizona and butted up against mountains. It's a beautiful and small installation. The outside community is primarily retirees and they were amazing to us. We packed so many amazing experiences into our time there and we have so many wonderful memories. We were able to visit Tombstone, Bisbee, Tucson, Phoenix, and The Grand Canyon. I would go back in a heartbeat.

3. Fort Bliss, TX. When we first told people that we were moving here, we heard a lot of "oh my gosh I would cry if I got sent there" and "you're going to be so close to Mexico, aren't you scared?!". We laughed and went into it with an open mind like we always did and we were pleasantly surprised. Fort Bliss is an amazing place! I mean when you have a place called Freedom Crossing on post that has a Buffalo Wild Wings, that is a win in my book haha. The El Paso community is by far one of the nicest when it comes to people that we have ever encountered. We chose to buy a house here and live in the community and I am so glad we did. Despite being so close to Mexico, it is considered to be one of the safest cities in the US. We did SO much while we were here. We went to so many concerts, festivals, ran a ton of races, and went to places like White Sands and Roswell. We even were able to visit the Trinity Site where the first atomic bomb was tested. I dove headfirst into volunteering with Kyle's unit here and it was such an amazing experience. Don't knock Fort Bliss until you try it. :)

4. Fort Polk, LA. Oh this one probably has the worst reputation of everywhere we have been. When you mention Fort Polk to someone in the military you immediately see a sour puss reaction. To be honest when it comes to soldiers most who hate it have only been here for training, and lets be honest the training is supposed to suck the life out of them. Yes, the area is small but gosh it's packed full of history and wonderful people. We have been able to explore New Orleans, Lafayette, Natchitoches, and other cool places like the Tabasco Factory. The hiking and outdoor activities you can find here are better than most places. I can honestly say that when we move next summer we will be very sad. We love it here. 

We have always done our best to make the most of where we live because to be honest it takes more energy to be miserable than it does to be happy. :) 

Have you lived somewhere that has a bad reputation?