Making Friends, By Johnathan Shelton, Age 12

Because I am a military kid, I know I only have a certain amount of time to make friends. We usually move every three years, so I don't have time to wait. Making friends is easy for me. Every place my family lives, it usually takes me two or three days to make a friend. I usually ride around the area where we are living and try to find a kid that looks my age. I also sometimes hang out with my older brother's friends. The reason I jump right in and try to make friends is that sooner or later, the video games start to get to me.

The hard part about making friends in a military place is finding out how far away they are. Sometimes my friends move before I do. That is sort of hard because then I don't have as many friends left. It is also hard when I move and have to leave my friends behind. For example, when I left Tennessee, I left four friends. It made me feel sort of bad, but I knew I would get over it soon. I think I'm a very good friend because I will help you with problems.

I keep in touch with my friends through email. Sometimes we get to visit my friends in other places and it is always fun to see them. Because I am a military child, I get to meet people I wouldn't have met otherwise.