Who are you?
Where are you from?
You ask me.
I think
Who am I?
Where am I from?

I respond.

I am from
My blue and yellow blankey
With the kitties and bunnies on it
And its name was
Blanko.

I am from
My bedtime
At eight o’clock
And staring
Out my bedroom window
Because it was still
Light outside.

I am from
Riding in
A big white van
With Dad
To go play
With the puppies at
His friend’s house.

I am from
Painting Mom’s fingernails
With bright
Red nail polish
And being embarrassed
When I messed up.

I am from
Warm summer days
And frigid winter nights
With fall
Blustering
And spring
Melting.

I am from
Thinking the season
Autumn
Was named after me
Instead of
Me
After it.

I am from
Mom’s green Explorer
And not being able
To open the door
From
The inside
And getting locked in
So I cried
Myself to sleep.

I am from
Playing dolls
With my little sister
And dressing up
With her
As Tinkerbell
And me
As a cowboy.

I am from
Wanting to be
A veterinarian
Until
I found out that animals
Might die
So I changed
My mind.

I am from
Growing up
At home
And being home-schooled
Until I was nine and
In the fifth
Grade.

I am from
My first day
Of public school
Clutching my bag
To my chest
And being scared
To eat the food.

I am from
Laughing with my friends
And making
Friends
Of all shapes
Sizes
Social groups
Colors
And personalities.

I am from
Crying myself to sleep
Over boys
School
Friends
Parents
And my favorite
Character
In my favorite
Book
Dying.

I am from
A high school
Where numbers
Are low
Along with
The drama
And people love
And hate
Each other for
No reason other than
They’re different.

I am from
Being friends with people
Who are
Complete
Opposites
And loving all of them
Dearly.

I am from
Silent hallways
At home
And never laughing
At a movie
Unless someone else
Laughs first
Even if
I think it’s really funny.

I am from
Having nightmares
And being
Too embarrassed
To tell anyone
But one person
About them
Because
I’m afraid that they
Will take things too far
And people
May get
Hurt.

I am from
Being afraid
Of abuse
And hurtful words
Because
My past hurts
And I don’t want
My past
To become my present
Or my future.

I am from
Falling in love
With the most
Unexpected person
At the
Most
Unexpected
Time
But loving it
Even if I’m a little scared.