Where are you from?

Restless feeling of anticipation, check.

Bright, sunny day, check.

Sense of adventure and undaunted exploration, check.

Everything I needed for a journey through this city was in place. As I was walking away, a couple in their car stopped and asked me,

Excuse me, are you from here?

Before I could answer this simple question, my mind produced several viable options.

Well kinda, I go to school here.

Well it depends, are you looking for something in particular that someone from here would know?

Well technically, I guess not. But I’m from Texas, does that count?

Yes, I’m from here. Afterall, I’ve lived here long enough to earn my citizenship into the People’s Republic of Austin. Government code 4.37B. Look it up.

Hmm… Well I guess it depends on what you mean when you say, “Are you from here?” Do you mean do I live here or was I born here? If you mean if I live here, is there a certain threshold of time I need to meet in order to sufficiently answer that question affirmatively? If you mean born here, it depends on what you mean by “born.” Do you mean “born” as in a physical birth that only happens once in a person’s lifetime or “born” as in a developmental process in which I become someone new?

Rather than harass the couple with my series of answers, I simply responded,

I go to school here. Is there something I can help you with?

After pointing them in the right direction, I found myself lost and in need of direction.

Had I answered their question? Had I really answered the essence of their question?

I know I answered it honestly.

I know I answered it appropriately.

I know I answered their question in a way that allowed us to continue to their real concern of needing directions while maintaining a brief social interaction that didn’t require an entire blog post to evaluate.

Yet, their question brought up another question, a question that’s asked all too often and answered all too soon.

Where are you from?

I’ve been asked that question enough times to have a methodically prepared response.

I’m from a little town in north Texas.

That answer is short and sufficient and allows small talk to continue.

But what I answer really depends on what you’re asking.

And where I’m from really depends on where you’re from.

And where you’re from really depends on how I answer that question.

If you’re from another country, then I’m from the United States.

If you’re from the United States, then I’m from Texas.

If you’re from Texas, then I’m from north Texas.

If you’re from north Texas, then I was born in Grand Prairie and I’m from a little town outside Wichita Falls.

If you’re from Wichita Falls, then I’m from Iowa Park.

If you’re from Iowa Park, then you probably know my family.

And if you know them, then you know that I’m definitely from the Watsons.

Where are you from?

The question still remains and is left drifting in the metaphysical realm of one-liners and inside jokes.

To rethink the obvious is to present us to ourselves.

Where am you from?

Aside from your birthplace or your hometown, 

Aside from where you live or where you once lived,

Aside from where you’ve recently been or always been,

Where are you from?

To take away preconceived notions of beginnings.

To reframe that which came before in order to question that which lies ahead.

To stop and reevaluate.

To have a thought as it comes and hold onto it before it goes away.

Where am I from...

Where am I from.

Where am I from?

I am from the openness of a rural night sky and the stillness of quiet city street.

I am from Texas sunsets and Mediterranean sunrises.

I am from mountains and valleys, rivers and oceans, prairies and hills.

I am from the wit and work ethic of my grandfathers.

I am from the faith and intelligence of my grandmothers.

I am from the dedicated personality of my father and the fervent heart of my mother.

I am from the channeled ambition of my sister and the discerning wisdom of my brother.

I am from the leaders I follow and the lessons I learn.

I am from the thoughts of philosophers and the stories of authors.

I am from those that came before me and those that come after me.

I am from these words as these words are from my thoughts.

I am from these thoughts as these thoughts are from themselves.

I am from that which was, is, and will be.

The sun finally hid itself behind a distant hill.

The last of today’s glimmering rays bounce off buildings and reflect upon themselves as they made their journey from there to here.