A few weeks ago, before the end of this past school year, I went to a mandatory meeting for a student mentoring class I'll be taking this upcoming fall. While I was there, we did a few activities to get to know each other. Unlike the usual "tell me three things about yourself", or "what's one interesting thing about you" and "what's your major," our first introductory activity was to instead make a short poem about where each of us was from.
That sounds a little boring on its own, yes, but what made this poem so different was that we weren't really supposed to include anything about where that place we were from actually was. Instead, this poem was meant to include things about us, about who we are, and serve as a fun way for us to get to know each other. Now, the poem I wrote at the meeting was a little short, given that I only had at most five minutes to write it, but after our was over, I added more to it to make it feel more complete. The idea really stuck with me, and I wanted to see what I could come up with to define where I truly came from. The final result of this extra editing left me with something that was rewarding to read, and it can be found below.
I am from spontaneous road trips with friends
From late night trips to sonic for milkshakes and tater tots
From Sunday mornings at church and Sunday afternoons with my nose in a book
I am from coffee shops and excessive amounts of iced coffee
From back roads and country nights full of shining stars and swaying pines
From radios turned up loud and learning the words to every song in existence
I am from concerts with best friends and singing along to favorite songs
From writing stories and music and words that mean something special
From studying and working and learning what I want to do in life
I am from friends who know my every dream, and truly believe I can achieve them
From family that will love me through every high and low life throws my way
From the sweetest and wildest pets a girl could ask for
I am from laughter
From happiness and adventure
From love
I really loved this activity, and for me at least, what started off as just a fun and different "getting to know you" kind of activity, really turned into a chance for me to think more about an age-old conversation starter. After writing this poem, I've realized the answer to the question of where you're from can be a little different from the usual mentioning of a hometown or state, and I think that's something I really needed to hear right now, when I'm in the midst of moving both at school and at home.
Where we're from doesn't have to be a place. Yes, literally we are all from a certain place, but that literal, geographical location isn't always going to be the only thing that defines us. Rather, it's the people in it, it's the places and things in it, and it's what we choice to do with those thing, as well as the manner in which we've been blessed to have them. It's the things that can be found where we're from that really define what that place is, and because it has nothing to do with location, it doesn't have to stop there.
We can be from many different place. We can be from all of the destinations of those late night adventures, and all of those back roads we took to get there. We can be from cars and concerts full of music, from a desk trying to write down our thoughts and study for exams. We can be from a place of love, happiness, and laughter. We can be from anywhere, and anything, and it's crazy to me that it took such a simple poem activity to get me to see that.
