I am from the sound of wheels clanging on the sidewalk as they slowly fade away when parents yell “come inside!”,

From the daily cheer for frontline workers,

From the purple door and mint colored house,

I am from homeless people yelling as the night turns dark,

From my messy desk stealing my attention away from my work,

From the quiet day, to the C 

                                      R

                                        A

                                          Z

                                            Y night,

I am from my sisters fighting about the stupidest things,

From my mom scaring me with her worries, 

From my dad CRACKING jokes as we s l o w l y eat our food,

This is a part of where I’m from.

I am from performing in the Velveteen Rabbit,

From wanting to be an artist,

                                 o

                             h       l

From dancing my w             e life,

This is a part of where I’m from.

I am from making pasta with a mountain of parmesan,

From the smell of snickerdoodle as I walk down the stairs,

From my dad barbecuing the meat,

I am from my mom making the side dishes,

From squeezing past my family in our skinny kitchen,

This is a part of where I’m from.

I am from the comforting smell of salt and oil on the first night of Chanukah,

From a bridge walk with my cousins on Thanksgiving,

From my mom documenting every Taco Tuesday in 2020,

I am from going to ski in Tahoe with my best friend every weekend in the winter,

This is a part of where I’m from.

I am from the embarrassing nickname my dad gave me, H-EmicHerson,

From being called Hanza by my friends because of a joke my sister made in kindergarten,

This is a part of where I’m from.

I am from stepping outside my house for the first time in days just to realize that I have to go back inside to get a mask,

From comforting my sister in January 2020 because she was scared of getting COVID,

From being overdramatic when someone I knew got COVID,

This is where I’m from.