I am from the terror of sharing a room with my sister

To my extraordinarily big family

I am from living in front of a beautiful mountain

In the very expensive San Francisco, CA

To living in a awesomely big(-ish) house

I am from living on very quiet Le Conte Ave

With my mom (Heba), and dad (Paul)

With my sister (Zeina), brother (Jamal), and two dogs (Socs (Socrates) and Suma)

I am from becoming a great, popular baker

To owning a bakery called “Sweet Sisters” with my sister

I am from becoming an amazingly good programmer; and coding more

To one day making a program that will change the world until eternity

I am from getting better at baking

To one day being able to say, “Get out of my room!”

I am from one day saying, “Welcome to ‘Sweet Sisters’! How may I help you?”

To saying, “Come and join me! I have enough room in the kitchen”

And having a wonderfully giant kitchen to bake in with family and friends

I am from my dad’s melt-in-your-mouth macaroni and cheese on Thanksgiving day

To my granny’s warm, right off the pan roti

I am from my grandad’s perfectly sweet bakes after a long plane ride to Toronto

From my teta’s deliciously homemade Lebneh

To my teta’s amazingly balanced sweet and sour, crispy and crunchy, tabbouleh

I am from my mom’s precisely laid out mezze

To my dad’s specially warm curry goat on a cold winter day

I am from my mom’s perfectly beautiful desserts on a special occasion

To my teta’s warm, sweet, and precisely filled date ma’amoul

I am from the specially made kibbeh at the end of a long day

The perfectly textured baklawa brought all the way from Lebanon

And the precisely spiced hummus on your warm and delicious food

I am from Falafel,

Shawarma,

Fattoush,

And jerk chicken

I am from my mouth watering caramels

To the sweet donuts on the table when you get up on a wonderful birthday

I am from the annually ecstatic Christmas Eve party

To the yearly house switching family fun on Thanksgiving Day

And the excitement had in the kitchen when baking together as a family

I am from the thrill during the incredible New Years Day party

From the weekly changed pickings of the Saturday Family Movie Night

To the delicious dinner enjoyed every night as a family

I am from funny

Clever

And, “You’re soooo tall”

I am from, “Nice hair”

To, “You look like your sister”

From, “Hurry up”

To, “Your brother is so big now”

I am from, “Say sorry”

And, “Time for bed”

From, “Stop reading”

And, “Help me”

To, “I’m so sorry”

I am from, “You’re the best”

To, “You’re so good with kids”

I am from Black Lives Matter

And COVID-19

To Protests

I am from Global Warming

To Coronavirus vaccines

That is where I am from