You think you know me, but you haven't the slightest clue.

Im the brunette standing behind you in line at the grocery store, eyeing the newest "Support Our Troops" magnet while paging through the latest issue of Modern Bride. The look on her face is complacent and her thoughts are thousands of miles away on some military base she's only been verbally described of over the phone.

Im the young girl in the next car with the windows rolled up and the glassy visage only on the road ahead. The radio is set to one of the local country stations which is currently playing "Letters From Home." But you can't hear it because you're talking to a family member or a friend on your cell phone. You catch a glance at the Marines sticker on the bumper of her car but you don't know that when the song reaches my dearest love it's almost dawn, I've been laying here all night long, wondering where you might be, her heart breaks a thousand times.

Im the young woman who is planning an entire wedding on her own, with only the little input she can get from her husband-to-be over the phone.

Im the girl who visits the Marine Corp Wives website at odd hours of the night to find some kind of comfort for that lonesome feeling that has settled in the pit of her stomach.

Im the woman who has fought an inner battle, trying to accept the path the man she loves has chosen. I'm the woman who will willingly sacrifice her family, her home to follow a man clear across the country. I'm the woman who never asked for this but deals with it without complaint.

Im the young woman who swells with pride every time she sees her Marine standing tall in his dress blues. I.m the one who spots a Marine sticker, license plate, or flag and feels a connection with its owner, hoping that maybe she's not alone in this melancholy, sacrificial situation.

Im the one who hates war but knows that it's a necessary thing. I'm the one who supports her President, regardless of her own opinion because he is the boss of her soon to be husband, because he.s the man who our troops are fighting under.

I am the young woman who tries her hardest to go about her everyday life. I am the young woman who tries to concentrate during her classes and do the job she gets paid to do. I am the young woman who hates sleeping alone. I am the young woman who closes her eyes and pretends that the man she loves is laying right there next to her, his arms wrapped around her. I am the young woman who tries not to miss him, who tries not to cry whenever she hears his name or even the mention of soldiers. I am the woman who is terrified that the love of her life will be sent off to war, enabling them to get married when they had planned, hoped, and prayed.

I am many things.

A daughter.

A sister.

A cousin.

A niece.

A co-worker.

A friend.

But most importantly, I am the fiance of a United States Marine.