Photo By Terrance Bell | Mary Bellini and fiance Tom Kinslow. Bellini is the daughter of ret. Brig. Gen. Mark...... read more read more
FORT LEE, Va. (June 26, 2017) -- Mary Bellini lives and works among the millions populating the metropolis of New York City, 10 years removed and worlds away from her youth spent in the farmland and rural landscapes of Prince George County.
The daughter of ret. Brig. Gen. Mark Bellini, a former Quartermaster General, and his wife Carol, she is director of external affairs at a charter school in the South Bronx.
“It’s a really great program,” said the 2007 PG High School graduate by phone. “They serve children who are in the child welfare and foster care systems and provide enrichment and social and emotional support, so I’m really excited to be working there.”
Bellini seems to have found the place in her life where passion and purpose converge, buoyed by a strong sense of community that is the lifeblood of the many military installations she called home throughout her childhood. Although her father has long been retired, the substance of her military upbringing remains strong.
“It made me who I am today,” said the 28-year-old. “There’s no doubt. It was extremely formative and very positive. I look back and I realize I had all these amazing opportunities every two years, moving and experiencing a new community and a new culture. That gave me the strength to open up to people very easily, meet new people and to have an appreciation for the community where I lived.”
After graduation from the College of William and Mary in 2011, Bellini followed the path of not only the typical military family, but also that of millennials, moving every one or two years to places like Washington, D.C., and holding several jobs. She finally settled in the greater New York City area in 2012.
“In all of those different places I sort of took my military upbringing and made my community wherever I lived,” she said. “That’s what military people do very well. Home is where you hang your hat, and that’s one of the most valuable lessons you can learn.”
That’s not to say, however, the constant military relocations were easy.
“It was always sort of difficult to make your home and then leave it,” said Bellini. “That was always a challenge. I think looking back, it was always this sort of positive challenge that makes everyone stronger; made you appreciate what you have while it was there.”
Bellini didn’t have the benefit of retrospection when her family moved here in the summer of 2005. Going into the 11th grade, PGHS was her third high school. With a whole new social environment to navigate and maturity bearing down on her, she needed a change and was moved beyond the lines of her comfort zone.
“I had always been very involved in sports -- volleyball and soccer – but when I arrived I decided I didn’t want to do that anymore,” she said. “I just needed a change.”
Change was difficult, however, especially if you were curbing athletic activity for the drama club and a whole new circle of friends.
“I just completely changed who I was spending my time with and what I was spending my time on,” she recalled. “It was a difficult time. But it ended up being positive. We ended up winning the state championships for that year. Positives came out of that difficult time.”
The obvious takeaway is change was made easier due to the various aspects of military life she was accustomed to, although it was quite difficult at the time, she said. Also, facilitation can lessen the impact of change.
“Know your decisions are going to be the right ones and really lean on your family,” she said, offering advice. “By that, I don’t just mean leaning on the family who lives in your house, or your grandparents, but everyone in your military family. It is a community…. They are really there to help you. It’s difficult to see it when you’re going through some of those difficult changes. No one can do it alone.”
Sage counsel from someone who has to survive in one of the world’s largest cities.
Bellini has plans to marry in the fall. Her parents now live in Pennsylvania where they are active members of a farming community.
| Date Taken: | 06.26.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 06.26.2017 12:38 |
| Story ID: | 239197 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 277 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Road warrior: whether it’s Fort Lee or NYC, family member adapts with ease, by Terrance Bell, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
