Experiences common for kids in military families aren’t exclusive to military children.
Moving between Japan, Belgium and Spain over the course of her life, Bella Castillo didn’t live in the United States until she moved to Athens to attend Ohio University.
Though a civilian, Castillo, a senior studying painting and drawing, grew up with military experiences because her mother, who is from Lancaster, Ohio, is an art teacher for the United States Department of Defense Education Activity.
The family, who just moved stateside for the first time, has created a running joke of calling airports their home.
“I don’t have a home,” Castillo said. “I’ve spent half of my life on planes, and just the other day, I was trying to figure out how many days I’ve lost by flying. I feel at home in airports.”
Though civilian families are not permitted to live on base, Castillo and her siblings attended school on base with other military children.
“Every military family has different kinds of experiences, where some kids don’t see their parents or others move all over the states,” she said. “I remember the first fleet that they deployed out of Okinawa (Japan) for the Iraq War. It was a crazy percentage of the school’s dads who left to catch their flight. The island felt so empty.”
{{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="c0ee519a-b613-11e4-8896-ff865021ac65"}}
Before moving to the U.S., Castillo lived in Spain and said adjusting to some American habits, such as the higher drinking age, different food and no siesta, or mid-day break, was “weird.”
The people she met freshman year are the people she’s now known the longest.
“My boyfriend is from Dayton (Ohio), and him and his friends have been friends since they were 13 or 14,” she said. “To me, that’s insane. I’ve lost so many friends, but I make friends so easily. I have no other choice.”
It’s also difficult trying to relate to people who haven’t moved around, Castillo said.
“If you’ve traveled at all and you are around someone that hasn't, and you say, ‘When I was in Spain,’ they look at you like you are a b---h, but that’s like saying ‘When I went to Columbus,’” she said. “I can't relate to (a place in) Columbus, but I can tell you what restaurant in Paris I loved. It’s frustrating, but that’s why it’s nice to meet with military kids because they understand.”
{{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="123dfbc6-a67a-11e4-849a-6ff43bee1c2b"}}
Castillo incorporated her experiences into her senior thesis, an art exhibition focused on not having a set home. Called ‘Videnda,’ the exhibit held in Seigfred Art Gallery consisted of five panels she painted of waves, because she said the ocean has felt like home wherever she’s been.
“It’s been the only constant in my life, until I moved to Ohio,” she said.
After graduating this semester, Castillo said she is moving to New York City and plans on staying put for a while.
“I’ve traveled so much and been so many places, but for now, I just want to enjoy being in one spot,” she said. “I used to want to do what my mom did, but now I just want to have that hometown, because I didn’t have that, and I have to leave so much behind every time.”
@thisisjelli
ao007510@ohio.edu
