By: Samantha G.

I am from red, dirt roads. 

From revering the pungent instant coffee packets and the steaming fish caught from the stream.

I am from drinking syrupy, brightly colored soda contained in glass bottles.

(Fizzy, carbonated bubbles floating up. 

Going down fast.)

I am from airplanes and smoke,

From glances at the tiny, rural village I left behind.

I’m from computers and TV,

From being a full-time ghostwriter and learning the tricks of the trade.

I’m from being the student foremost, and not the daughter.

From the high bars and reaching for the stars.

I’m from yells across the hall,

From “SAM!” and “Quick, quick.”

Everything fast-moving, fast-paced, growing and changing

In a big, big city. 

It’s hard to define who I am

And where I’m from

My mind changes like the seasons

In the city, as I grow

But I know, home is not the house in which you live in,

It follows wherever you go.

About the Author

Samantha lives in San Francisco and is currently a middle school student.