I am from cellophane noodles and fried egg

I am from a loving place full of smiles and laughs

I am from a noisy neighborhood, always full of kids

I am from the calls of loud Bostonians that crowd into Harvard Square streets and slip on the ice covered sidewalks

I am from Adrian Monk, every weekend night, solving mysteries with ease

I am from the hill everyone has trouble getting up

I am from fresh cut grass, wiffle ball, and lighting bugs

I am from untied shoelaces I trip over every day

I am from a large family with many jokes and memories

I am from a small cozy town where everyone is considered family

I am from a foldable couch bed in my grandparents old tiny house in Pakistan where my cousins and I sat for hours on end watching Barbie movies

I am from admiring art history and culture through movies and shows

I am from the dirty old soccer nets at the park down the street

I am from the lavender growing outside my moms old house in Manchester-by-the-Sea

I am from my tears freezing on your shoulder in the dead chill of the January wind and snow despite your warm embrace

I am from that, and every moment after

I am from the sweatshirts in my closet

I am from going to early morning softball games with my family

I am from long walks to the candy shop with my best friend

I am from buttered corn on the cob and bubbling galbi jjim

I am from Wednesdays spent spinning through the ice rink in Simsbury 

I am from many families, of faith, of music, of friendship, of birth, of learning, of love

I come from the kitchen of my polish grandmother

I am from a family that always has at least one dog

I am from a family who is always involved in a sports activity

I am from Indie Coffee Shops

I am from the sheltered suburbs

I am from the beaches in Torrance, California

I am from my Halmoni’s years of nursing school in Korea

I’m from stories of stingrays in the deep blue sea

I am from the sweet milk tea under the mid-winter rain

I am from my first soccer game

I am from running around the hotel halls with my teammates at our hockey tournaments

I am from hot chocolate

I am from worn-out paperbacks and folding my body before the sun rises to meditate

I am from playing family soccer on a sunny day in the backyard

I am from the undeveloped mind

I am from the cold biting at my face as I walk along the roads of my heritage

I am from golden hills and golden hair

I am from the white and a little brown fur with four legs that barks happily every time I come home

I am from visiting the library every week in the summer because I read all of my books too fast

I am from the bike trails leading to my favorite lake that we visit in California every summer

I am from the people of the rainbow-colored parade proudly marching down Broadway

I’m the fish that constantly splash waters, full of the past and the future, of the many pools I swam

I’m from the laughter in the warmth of summer

I am from the big, busy, buzzing of the center of the Nutmeg

I am from the long busy streets and tall concrete buildings

I am from the rolling hills and buckeye trees

I am from snow covered branches that awes the crowd

I’m from reading alone during lunchtime when my “friends” don’t have room at their table

I am from books about far-off places and dragons and magic

I am from drawing, where I can sketch my ideas instead of writing them

I am from part of the south not too familiar to most

A ginseng tree dropping fan-shaped leaves in my schoolyard

I am from the blood of the teeth my brother knocked out

The sound of the waves crashing on the shore, laughing with family and friends

I am a mountain overlooking small french villages

Stray cats walking everywhere outside houses in Dubai

I am from the familiar roads I drive everyday through my little hometown surrounded by trees.

I am from the cold wooden railing on the back of church pews

I am from long walks with my family in the fall leaves and crisp fresh air

I am from grooving to the music everyday

I am from the South, playing with siblings, dress up and dress down in a not so nice neighborhood

I am from Seoul, Korea and I am from an island called Jeju where my previous international school is

I am from the empty UMass campus where we fed the ducks and climbed on the rooftops

I am from road trips, out west, Mt. Rushmore, Badlands, hail, hotel pools, hours in the car, tornado, cabin in the woods, singing with my brother, headaches, national parks, gas station food, gift shops, Cracker Barrel

We are from screens that bring us half way across the globe

I am from the rivers of the Grand Canal, where rower shouts and roars to row towards terminus

I am from the mountains, where climbing up the hills is a daily routine in our lives

I am from games, that to me meant more than just competition

I am from different dance shoes displayed in the shop window 

I am from freshly baked cakes with cream and sweetened strawberries

But we are all from Farmington where Miss Porter’s family embraces us all