Where I’m From

I am from ______(traditions that remind you of home), from (brands—clothing, products, labels commonly used growing up).

I am from ______(food you ate growing up & holidays you grew up celebrating)

I am from ______(favorite childhood activities, books you remember most, toys you collected & from family member’s names/names of people who took care of you)

I am from ______(plants/gardens that grew inside/outside your home), from (sounds, touch, scents that remind you of home)

I am from (names of the places your parents are from & names of the places you’ve lived in)

I am from (phrases you’ve grown up listening to & superstitions/traditions/oddities your parents/guardians always used)

I am from (activities, adjectives, descriptions that you think best describe your interests growing up)

I am from (faith traditions, faith journey, spiritual discoveries), from (doubts, struggle with faith)

I am from (phrases or words that remind you of a significant struggle you went through), from (phrases or words that remind you of great joys in life)

I am from (favorite quotes, mottos you hold dear)

I am (your name)

The above exercise will help you explore your cultural identity and share it with those around you. Don’t think too hard to be poetic or cool or compare yourself to other people. Just tell the truth about your childhood, background, and then share it with at least one other person and then listen to theirs.

After you listen to someone share, express your appreciation for them sharing their story with you. If you have questions, ask them in humility, not judgment or condescension. Some of the thoughts shared may have been sentimental and were definitely personal. Here are some sentence stems that may help ask good questions:

  • I was puzzled when I heard…could you tell me more about that?
  • What did you mean when you said…
  • Could you tell me more about …

The hashtag for this is #WhereImFrom!

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Here is an example of a “Where I’m From Poem” by Jonathan Walton

Where I’m From, Jonathan Walton

I am from bacon grease and collard greens

From hot plates and tobacco fields

I am from the place where hogs outnumber people and it smells like chit’lins and fried chicken

I am from the place where pine trees are clear cut every fifteen years

Strawberries are small, soft and sweet, not big, hard and green

I’m from pound cake for birthdays and work not rest over the holidays

From the line of Milton and Dorothy Allen

I am from your word is supposed to mean something andit doesn’t matter how you feel

I’m from Sunday morning services where it all looks great and master bedrooms with 2 single beds.

I’m from Fairfax, by way of Brodnax, opposite sides of the James River

From Pauline saying to Marvin Walton, don’t bring that shit into my house

and weekly basketball tournaments with cousins where I only won once!

From high school football in the fall and soccer in the spring

I am from pictures on the walls and above the mantle piece

The serenity prayer and psalm 23 at head of her bed

I am from 655 Allen Road…

The hashtag for this exercise is #WhereImFrom!