This story is based on my feelings and hard times that I dealt with over the past couple years. My boyfriend is in the military and is approaching his deployment date. At this point in time, he is preparing to leave for six months for training and a lot of the emotions are real and current as I am creating this story. Although the character is not me in the story, her feelings and adventures are mine. I am sort of living through my character in order to get my feelings and emotions out. The fact that the story will have a happy ending will provide me with hope and understanding that although things may be hard while he is away, things will work and we will be back together in no time. I have chosen to keep the male character somewhat silent because after he leaves, there is not much communication going on between the couple and I wanted to convey this through the story.
Throughout my tweets I had noticed that my most commonly use word was boyfriend, with the second being Army. Because of the fact that this whole semester my boyfriend has been preparing for his departure a lot of my tweets are about him leaving or about us trying to spend as much time together as we can. Although I have not used all of my tweets word for word from twitter, I have used the idea or some form of them throughout my writing.
Throughout my tweets I had noticed that my most commonly use word was boyfriend, with the second being Army. Because of the fact that this whole semester my boyfriend has been preparing for his departure a lot of my tweets are about him leaving or about us trying to spend as much time together as we can. Although I have not used all of my tweets word for word from twitter, I have used the idea or some form of them throughout my writing.
- long day filled of homework, sports, and football with the boyfriend
- Patiently waiting for my boyfriend to get here
- Having such a good weekend with the boyfriend :)
- no desire to sit in class knowing that my boyfriend is leaving in 3 weeks only to go away for 6 months :(
- is it wrong that i am missing my boyfriend before he even leaves?
- Philly for the night with the boyfriend
- Driving into the city last night with the boyfriend
- Such a stressful week ahead and my boyfriend leaves on Sunday :(
Learning To Let Go
She tried not to think about what lay ahead of them, it only depressed her. He kept telling her to think about their
time together and not worry about how it will be in the future. Is it wrong to miss him before he even
leaves? Even though he was standing right in front of her she missed him. She tried to take in everything about him, his smile, his laugh, everything, before it was too late.She couldn’t stand to think about what it would be like once he
leaves. It’s not just the fact that he was going to be gone for a year, but in
a place that is dangerous and he would have no contact with her. She tried
focusing on the time that they have together right now but it’s been rough
getting to this point. It’s not the first time that she had to let go, but this
was for a much longer time.
When she first met him in college, she had known that he was in the Army. It was something she considered for a while before agreeing to be his girlfriend. He went away for weekends at a time but it was nothing that she couldn’t handle. Two summers ago he had gone away for two months which may not seem like a long time to most people. She remembered how she had barely any contact with him, aside from writing hand written letters that took days to get to him. When she would finally get a letter, she would read it with tears in her eyes trying to picture him writing it and the way that he would pronounce every word, every syllable that would come out of his mouth.
"Come on! Your always taking forever to get ready!" He knew that it took her hours to get ready, even though he thought she looked beautiful the way she was, hair up in a messy bun, sweatpants, and no makeup.
" I'll be down in a minute!" She wanted to look her best, she knew that their time was running out so she wanted to make the best of what time they had left.She rushed down the stairs and said, "Do I look okay?"
"You look beautiful, you couldn't look better if you tried for another hour!"He was always cracking jokes. His humor was what first drew her to him. As soon as they started dating, they spent every waking hour together. They weren't just boyfriend and girlfriend, they were also each others best friends.
She learned how to let go when he left for six months. He moved to Virginia for training and left her stranded in their home town. She felt alone. No one quite understood the pain that she felt knowing that her love, her best friend, her life was no longer there. A piece of her was missing and she didn’t think she could get through the six months, but she did. There were hard times, lots of hard, stressful times. She was still in college, trying to get through school so by the time he finished his deployment they could move on with their lives.
When she first met him in college, she had known that he was in the Army. It was something she considered for a while before agreeing to be his girlfriend. He went away for weekends at a time but it was nothing that she couldn’t handle. Two summers ago he had gone away for two months which may not seem like a long time to most people. She remembered how she had barely any contact with him, aside from writing hand written letters that took days to get to him. When she would finally get a letter, she would read it with tears in her eyes trying to picture him writing it and the way that he would pronounce every word, every syllable that would come out of his mouth.
"Come on! Your always taking forever to get ready!" He knew that it took her hours to get ready, even though he thought she looked beautiful the way she was, hair up in a messy bun, sweatpants, and no makeup.
" I'll be down in a minute!" She wanted to look her best, she knew that their time was running out so she wanted to make the best of what time they had left.She rushed down the stairs and said, "Do I look okay?"
"You look beautiful, you couldn't look better if you tried for another hour!"He was always cracking jokes. His humor was what first drew her to him. As soon as they started dating, they spent every waking hour together. They weren't just boyfriend and girlfriend, they were also each others best friends.
She learned how to let go when he left for six months. He moved to Virginia for training and left her stranded in their home town. She felt alone. No one quite understood the pain that she felt knowing that her love, her best friend, her life was no longer there. A piece of her was missing and she didn’t think she could get through the six months, but she did. There were hard times, lots of hard, stressful times. She was still in college, trying to get through school so by the time he finished his deployment they could move on with their lives.
If your not in love with a soldier...
- You can't understand the meaning of "going to the field" and the weeks that you will spend away from each other because of this.
- You will never understand the hole in your heart that is left when your loved one leaves you to fight for his country knowing that he will be in harms way.
- You don't understand how hard it is to say good-bye even though you hoped it would be easier than last time.
- You can't understand the amount of fear that we feel knowing that our soldiers are in danger.
- You can't understand the immense joy, uncontrollable smile, and the million butterflies you get when they come home from deployment.
- If you're not in love with a soldier, you can't truly understand how to make every moment count because you never know when that phone call may come again.
- If you're not in love with a soldier, you can never really understand how very delicate life is!
The month before he left was bitter sweet for both of them; they had so much they wanted to do before he left and little time to do it. They made a check list of everything they wanted to do, but mostly they just wanted to be together. They traveled around their home town doing and seeing things that he thought he would miss. They went into the city and visited the beach. They spent a lot of time with family, taking in what they looked like at this very moment and realizing how much they would probably change throughout the year. Sometimes late at night after her boyfriend had fallen asleep, she would lay in bed with tears streaming down her face. How was she going to survive without him by her side all the time? Her friends didn’t quite understand her feelings, even though they tried to support her. Her parents told her that she was going to be okay and that she just had to be strong, but they couldn’t be strong for her. After the tears stopped falling, she would hold on to him tight, wishing that she never had to let him go. It’s not fair. None of my friends have to say goodbye to their boyfriends.
As the days flew by and his departure date approached, her nerves began to race. He began picking up all of the Army clothes that were once taking over her floor. She wanted to put them back where they were for so long, she wanted to make him stay. Since the day she met him she knew this day would come but she was hoping and praying it wouldn’t. She knew her boyfriend felt strongly about fighting for our country and she was so proud of him yet so scared for him at the same time. How was she going to juggle school and learn to live without him by her side? They were inseparable and now they wouldn’t see one another for twelve months.
The day had finally come and she woke
up with tears in her eyes. He held her tight and they cried together. She was
sick to her stomach wondering how she was going to live without him for a year.
They would have barely any communication and would have to hope and pray that every
day he is safe. As they walked out to the car hand in hand, she wanted to
continue to hold onto him and never let go. She felt like her world was
crumbling down around her and there was no one there to save her. She stood at
the car trying to hold back tears as he packed the last of his things into his
car. They hugged one last time. As they were hugging she tried to take
everything in; his smell; his strength; and the atmosphere around them. After a
few minutes of hugging tight, they let go. She broke down into tears the minute
he started to pull away. It was the worst feeling she ever felt and she just
wanted him to come back.
The days seem so long
I feel alone and incomplete without you
Please come home to me
Dear Diary,
I can't believe that it has been almost a year since he left. I never thought that I would have lasted this long but I did it, we did it. In about two weeks, my love will be back home with me and we can pick up from where we left off and continue our life together. I'm going to admit that I broke down, many times and turned to friends and family to help me cope with the separation. I stopped watching the news and ignored any reports about military deaths and prayed to God that no officer would come showing up at my door with a letter. I tried not to think about the bad things that could happen to him while he's away, but with everything going on in this world its hard not to. I grew stronger, I held back tears and continued to fight through the days, just as my love is doing overseas. I can't wait to see him again. Can't wait to have him back and know that he is with me, safe and sound. It's been too long and no one deserves to be put in this situation but we got through it. Things were bad for a while but I picked myself up off the ground and learned to continue living life. Just because he wasn't there with me didn't mean I had to suffer. He wouldn't want me to anyway. In two weeks, I will be reunited with my lover, my best friend, and my life.
Sincerely,
A very emotional military girlfriend
I can't believe that it has been almost a year since he left. I never thought that I would have lasted this long but I did it, we did it. In about two weeks, my love will be back home with me and we can pick up from where we left off and continue our life together. I'm going to admit that I broke down, many times and turned to friends and family to help me cope with the separation. I stopped watching the news and ignored any reports about military deaths and prayed to God that no officer would come showing up at my door with a letter. I tried not to think about the bad things that could happen to him while he's away, but with everything going on in this world its hard not to. I grew stronger, I held back tears and continued to fight through the days, just as my love is doing overseas. I can't wait to see him again. Can't wait to have him back and know that he is with me, safe and sound. It's been too long and no one deserves to be put in this situation but we got through it. Things were bad for a while but I picked myself up off the ground and learned to continue living life. Just because he wasn't there with me didn't mean I had to suffer. He wouldn't want me to anyway. In two weeks, I will be reunited with my lover, my best friend, and my life.
Sincerely,
A very emotional military girlfriend
Cape May County Herald
Sat May 23,2012
Family and friends gathered out side of the Army National Guard headquarters in Cape May Court House to welcome home soldiers who had been in Afghanistan for a year. Loved ones ran quickly through the crowds to find their soldiers who were excited to be home. A young couple, pictured below, managed to find one another through the crowd and held on to one another tight after not seeing each other for over a year.
