Hi! My name is Barbara Matos. I am presently living in Granite City, IL. But, I have not lived there my whole life. To begin I was born in 1979, in Ft. Leavenworth, KS. At the age of two, I moved to Germany, up until the age of 5.

From there my father was relocated to New York, then later to North Carolina. We remained in North Carolina for 6 years, so therefore that is the place I refer to as home. Then, we were tranferred to Puerto Rico, which we remained there for 3 years, and those were the best years. And from Puerto Rico to Illinois; where I am presently living with my parents.

Being an Army Brat has brought me many experiences that noone could ever understand, unless you gain the experience of being an Army Brat. I have maintained many friendships, have become adjusted to the many different cultures there are, I have also picked up on being very outgoing; which is a must if you want to get through it all! 

I give my dad, SSG Miguel Matos, much credit, and even though it may have been tough for him, to come home one day and say to us "Guys, we're moving in 6 months," he was always very strong in doing it and maybe expected the worse, but all in all togetherness was the key to it all.