Breannah Woodley

Texas State University is where over 38,000 students have chosen to call their home. That is over 38,000 stories that walk around campus each day. Each student has their own story to tell, and Breannah Woodley definitely has an intriguing story.

Every college student can relate to the first week of the semester introductions that everyone is required to do by professors….Name, Classification, Hometown, repeat. In Breannah’s case, her Hometown answer is not laid out easily, and this is where her story begins.

The sun is beginning to set on a fall evening, and Breannah is sitting comfortably on a poolside couch at her apartment. She is anxious, yet excited about the interview that is about to take place.

With her phone in tow, Breannah seems like your average college student who loves to check in on social media. However, there is an empowering aspect about her life that sets her off from many.

Breannah’s dad is a Commissioned Officer in the United States Navy. Her entire life she has moved to a new city approximately every four years.

“I was born in Guam, but my family has moved to many places in the U.S. and even some places internationally,” said Breannah.

Her entire family has lived in Guam, California, Texas, Virginia and Maryland due to her dad’s duty stations. The most exciting place for her to live was in Japan…even though she was not a fan of the move at first.

“The first year was the worst…I was in a whole new country that I knew nothing about but it definitely got better.”

After a quick stretch and peek at her Iphone, Breannah begins to channel in to the interview again. The sun is still slowly descending into the horizon creating the impeccable lighting behind her.

For most people, going away to college comes with a lot of mixed emotions. Some people are either anxious, hopeful, excited, nervous, sad…. or a confusing combination of all the emotions listed. The security that a person has of living at home is gone when they move into their dorm.

Even though the struggles of college are inevitable, most students are able to commute home on the weekends to get a break from the stress. However, this is not the case for Breannah.

Since she arrived at Texas State in Fall 2015, both of Breannah’s parents have been living in Japan due to her dad’s duty station. She is not able to just hop in a car and go home like most students can. Breannah says that her entire three years in college were hard due to her parents being away.

“I would see people with their families, and they could easily go home on the weekends…and I couldn’t do that.”

The different time zones also made it difficult for her and her parents to communicate with each other. They eventually came up with a good schedule for the entire family; however, it was still a constant hardship for her family.

“I was on a different time schedule from them. So, when I’m up, they’re asleep and vice versa.”

Without a doubt, Breannah made it known that it was extremely hard having her parents in Japan during such a crucial time in her life. She used her situation to keep her motivated with schoolwork, and she became an academically successful student.

Looking back on her life, Breannah feels that having a parent in the military has shaped her to be an overall good person. While many people shy away from branching out to new places, she is open to it since she has travelled many places throughout her life.

“I love travelling, I love meeting new people, and I love experiencing new cultures,” said Breannah. “That’s not something that I am afraid of.”

Before this moment in her life, Breannah was certain that being a part of the military was not something that she wanted for herself. Even though her dad encouraged her to pursue the military, she believed that she had her fair share of the lifestyle, and all she wanted was a stable life.

Now that she has gotten older, Breannah is now more open to the idea of serving the country. She believes that serving in the military can be a beneficial thing in a person’s life. She has seen more positive things come out of it instead of negative effects.

“The military is something good that I wouldn’t mind being a part of for myself.”

As the sun continues to set on this crisp, fall evening, one thing is for sure. Breannah is a great student with a good head on her shoulders, and she is ready to take the world by storm.

Even though times were not always smooth, Breannah is grateful for her experiences because they made her the person that she is today. She is and will forever be a Proud Navy Daughter.