Although Veterans Day is to honor those who served in the U.S. military, I still struggled to find my place in my new role when I first left the military. I left the military to be a mom and military spouse, so how did I fit into the veteran space? And for a long time, I thought I didn’t. Even though I had served in the military, I didn’t think others would accept me. I was tired of having to prove myself – just because I didn’t think that I “looked like a veteran.” And so it was easier to ignore the veteran community. It was a place I assumed that I would not be welcomed. And in those years, Veterans Day was a day that I would get a free meal to celebrate and enjoy a day off.
A Change of Heart
But then, I got connected to the veteran community I had been avoiding. I had started sharing my experience as a military spouse, and I occasionally spoke about my time in the military. And to my surprise, people wanted to hear more about what I had to say. And as I met other veterans, I was surprised by the openness and the welcoming communities I would find.
Instead of having to prove myself, I was welcomed for who I was. Fellow veterans would ask questions about my service and share parts of their own. We would bond over the shared experience of military service, and as we dove into complex topics such as transitioning, trauma, loneliness, saying goodbye, and more, we would find a shared link. And I would not feel so alone.
The loneliness I felt was something I had grown so accustomed to that I just believed it was part of normal life. I felt this inner longing that I thought was my desire to be back in the military serving again. But truthfully, that longing was the pain of missing my brothers and sisters. I missed the community of veterans I had served with. And it was through this journey of connecting with other veterans and sharing my story that I found I wasn’t alone. I did not need to join the military again to find that community I lost. It was still there. It was just in a new location. The veteran community is alive and thriving online, at meetups, conferences, and more.
Get Active
Today, I am active in the veteran community. I am a part of a number of military organizations and have attended a handful of veteran-focused conferences over the past year. I’m sharing my experience as a veteran on various platforms through freelance writing and working to help share the stories of women through my podcast, Women of the Military. Added to that also working to help make the next generation of women’s experience in the military better with my new book, A Girl’s Guide to Military Service.
When I left the military, I thought that the greatest accomplishments of my life were behind me. But the truth was my life had only just begun and the tools that the military had given me were not gone, even if my time in service was over. Instead, I could take the hard lessons I had learned from military service to start a new career. I could give back to veterans and change the future for the next generation of women who would follow me both in the military and in their future careers after military service.
Veterans Day Today
Veterans Day is now a day for me to remember how far the military has gotten me. It’s a time to acknowledge how saying yes to the call to serve changed my life in so many profound ways. And it helps me consider how service and giving back doesn’t end just because you hung up your uniform for the last time.
Service in the military is an open door to the future. It means that I get to be living the life I’m living today. I still have a lot to offer. My service didn’t end because I took off my uniform. That’s what Veterans Day means to me. It’s a reflection of the time I served while being excited about the future and the impact I can make not because I served in the military but because I took the tools I learned from military life and I am using them today to change the world today.
Veterans Day
