#AskDar - (Politics in the Military, Starting a Family, Why I Blog + More!)

OMG Y'all, this week has just FLOWN by. Am I right? We are already more than a week into 2018 and I’m still holding on to my butt wondering where 2017 went. (In other news, I have no idea where that little saying even came from but accurate description of how I’m feeling). I’m writing this post our real quick today so I just want to quickly thank everyone who voted in my poll on InstaStories and obviously, super special thanks to everyone that asked me a question for this round of #AskDar! ICYMI: you can ask me a question about LITERALLY anything using this handy dandy form right here and it could get answered on another one of these posts! I’m going to try to keep them rolling at least every other month but could be more depending on how many q’s I get to a! 

I cannot believe I’m leaving to head back to the Mountain Mama (West Virginia for those of you who don’t know) to celebrate my bridal shower this weekend! It is going to be a weekend filled with so much good food and company that I can hardly contain my excitement. My dad is taking Justin on a hot dog tour of my hometown on Saturday and I can’t wait to get his reaction. Maybe I should have him document the adventure for a blog post! HAHA. I’m dying just thinking about the picture, honestly.

Alright, alright, alright! Let's get into this #AskDar Q + A, shall we?

What's your advice on balancing your political views with the military's policy of being totally bipartisan?

The short answer is that it truly depends on who you are. If you’re a service member, then you have to stay pretty neutral. However, as a spouse or significant other, I feel as though it is important to not only have political opinions but to stay up-to-date with what’s going on in politics. Respect is going to be the key word here. There is a way to listen to and be respectful of other people’s political beliefs without losing your own opinion. Also, practice respectfully disagreeing with other people’s opinions by voicing your own in a respectful manner. You can try avoiding the topic altogether but the chances are at some point you’re going to find yourself in a position where you’re being asked about your political views. The best advice I can give is to have a plan of attack. Know how to respectfully voice your own opinion, be a good listener to the opinions of others, and have a plan to diffuse or remove yourself from the situation if things get tense!

I know you work are West Point, but what exactly do you do? And what do you want to do once you and Justin move?

I currently work in human resources as a Management Analyst. Definitely not my dream job but it pays the bills. The way I started working at West Point is actually kind of a long story. I began as an intern after being picked up for a developmental program out of college and I’ve been here for three years now, working my way up. In December of 2016, I ended my Internship and was granted my current position!

As far as what I want to do once we move, that’s a little bit of a challenge. I have already started applying for jobs but it can be difficult to get through the government hiring process just in general but it can be even more difficult as a military spouse. While there are improvements being made to help military spouses find jobs it can still be a struggle. I am currently working on branching out into freelance social media management but my dream job would be to blog full time or to work on the R. Riveter social team! That’s as much as I’ve got for a plan at this point which is terrifying. 

Do you wear a silicone engagement ring?

If you missed this post, then you probably don’t know why I have been wearing a silicon engagement ring for the last month. We had a mishap with my engagement ring and I have been without a ring since just before Christmas. I had the diamond from my original ring reset into a new setting and my mom is bringing it to me this weekend! Justin and I bought silicon rings from QALO to have for days when we’re working on stuff, at the gym, and various other times when you don’t want to be wearing your actual ring. I cannot recommend them enough! 

How soon after marriage would you want to have children?

Justin and I have been getting this question A LOT lately (me more than him though) and the answer to that depends on who you ask. My answer is that ideally, we would wait until we’ve been married for at least a year. I want to be settled and for finances to be less of a question mark before we even think about taking that next step and I really just want to enjoy being married. Justin, on the other hand, wants to start trying pretty soon after the wedding. When you’re a military couple, family planning can be a handful. His reasoning is that the year following our wedding is the only time he knows he will actually be around. It makes sense but right now I’m just trying to get through graduation and our wedding. I’ve been praying about it though and the best thing we can do right now is to keep an open discussion between ourselves and with God. It may seem silly but everything is in his timing and he’ll let us know when it’s right. 

What made you decide to do blogging/vlogging?

I’ve talked about this a little bit on the blog before and especially on this page but this blog isn’t my first blog. I think I first started blogging in late high school and college before blogging was a thing. Not that I’m like an OG hipster blogger or whatever. I WISH I had started a serious blog and stuck with it back then but anyways. I started blogging because my entire life I’ve wanted to be a writer. I have been writing stories and keeping journals for as long as I can remember and my ultimate goal in life is to publish a bestseller one day. But all I’ve heard my entire life is how writers don’t make money, it’s so hard to get published, etc. etc. so in order to keep myself writing, I decided to start blogging. As for vlogging, that was an entire spur of the moment decision but I’m happy we started it. It’s so much fun looking back at old videos. We’ve been kind of bad at it recently but I’m hoping to get back into the swing of it soon!

What Q do you want an A to in future #AskDar posts?

I’m planning on doing these once a month and still have a few questions to use from this round. I’ll keep the form open so you can keep asking me anything and everything you want, seriously!

More fun:

See my last #AskDar post here!
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