Currently residing in a military town, I can proudly say that the military has had a profound impact on my life and the way I choose to live it. My father was in the United States Navy, so I constantly would wait for him to return from his often year-long deployments. I didn't have to move around as a child, but I spent a significant part of my childhood missing my father. I remember crying to my mom or sister about how much I missed him. Because of this, I have learned to cherish the time I have to spend with people while I have it with them. As I grew older, my parents divorced when I was seven years old. This hurt my heart as a kid. It felt like it was a lifelong deployment that my dad was on since we never lived in the same household again. I lived with my mother while she tried to grasp what it was like to be a single mother. I wouldn't identify myself as a depressed person, but I experienced depression as a child. My father hadn't been home often, and it made my self-worth deteriorate. I wondered why he had to always go. I pondered if I was worth staying around for. Was his job more important than his daughter? Eventually, my mother remarried a great guy, who is a member of the United States Marine Corps. He has taught me a lot more things from him than I had in my childhood. He is about to retire soon. His whole life essentially revolved around the military as well. Because of my stepfather, he was able to pass down the military values that helped propel me further into the future. Hard work can get you anywhere in life. Things can become difficult. However, they are only difficult at first. The more you strive towards something, the better you gain. Another thing that he was able to exemplify not only to me but my siblings, the importance of resiliency. This ties in with the first principle, but resiliency is more so enduring difficult situations rather than simply overcoming them. Being resilient is a key characteristic of a marine. However, he has shown this in everyday life. Instead of giving up on my mother when times got tough or quitting the Marine Corps when he lost some friends, he chose to stay and finish because he knew that there was a better outcome. One of the most important principles I learned from my stepfather is that family isn't just blood, it's also chosen. The Marine Corps is one big family. They all have such tight bonds that most of them are willing to die for one another. He lives this out every day by being my stepfather. I see him no differently than being my actual father. I am eternally blessed to be born into a military family. My stepfather saved my family, making him the ultimate hero.