I am from a loud and boring neighborhood 

loud because people fix their cars and drive very fast 

boring because nobody decorates their houses for holidays, they don’t have block parties, light fireworks or give out candy on Halloween

a comfy soft bed where I sleep in on the weekends

a PC that lights up the dark room with rainbows and heats up the room with hot air coming from the fans

That is where I am from.

I am from a dream to play in the NBA

I dream of a Lambo and a nice modern white and gray house with big windows, a balcony a pool and a wide white staircase

I hope to finish Live Oak and get into a good high school that will bring me closer to my dream of the NBA

I am from a family where my mom increases followers in her Instagram and accomplishes our family dreams

I hope to always stay close to my family

That is where I am from.

I am from a place where we eat Oliebol donut holes with powdered sugar at Christmas that my grandfather makes

Grandma’s gumbo at parties with crab, fish, lobster, spicy and salty

Cheese pizza from Pasquale’s, until they messed up the order too much

Chic-Fil-A and In-N-Out on roadtrips or weekends

But I hate eating Thai food, and I love eating noodles but I hate the smell

That is where I am from.

I am from a family where we celebrate Christmas, Birthdays and Mother’s and Father’s Day. 

For each person’s birthday we celebrate for a week, we travel, have friends over, eat birthday cake. 

Ugly Sweater Christmas party at my aunt’s house. 

Letting our parents sleep in on Mother’s and Father’s Day with flowers for my mom and donuts for my dad. 

Thanksgiving usually means lots of family and friends or we’ll travel somewhere close that all my family can get to. 

Hawaii trips twice a year, snorkeling, luaus, shaved ice, driving around the island and surfing

That is where I am from.

I am from being told to go outside, but I don’t have to be told to do my chores

“Siah, help your brother…”

“Do you want to play Roblox or Fortnite?”

“Go feed the dog”

My teammates talking to me during sports

“Pass me the ball” “Shoot, shoot, shoot” “Pass back” “Behind you”

That is where I’m from.

I am from Covid – staying home, wearing masks, staying 6 feet apart, washing hands, constantly wiping things down

Zoom, School from Home, plexiglass

Climate change – droughts, heavy rain, wildfires, red sky with smoke in the air, animals going extinct

Racial Injustice, Black Lives Matter, protests for people being killed, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery

People storming the Capitol Building

That is where I am from