I am from
Harry, Ron and Hermione
And Cather and Levi
From Frodo, Gandalf, and Gollum.

I am from my dad’s quirky jokes,
And him laughing at me when I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

I am from Star Wars
And old 90s movies like Empire Records and Dazed and Confused
From my mom’s awful teary movies
And my favorites like Harry Potter and Strawberry Shortcake movies.

I am from John Denver, Johnny Cash, and Frank Turner.
And singing with my sister as we jumped on our beds.
I am from my dad’s record player
And my mother’s rapping with her car dance moves on road trips.

I am from scratches from the cat
That my dad found in his car.
From the dog who snuck in my room
to disassemble my book covers and sneaking back to my brother.

But I am also from yelling from the bedroom
And holes in the walls from my dads strong arms
From nap time while my dad moved out
And only seeing him 10 days a month
And then down to only 4

I am from moving
Brookings to Sioux Falls and repeat and repeat and repeat
From my Dad’s Divorce Trailer
And my mom moving us around every 2 to 5 years.

I am from never having a best friend for more than 3 years
And always trying “too hard” at school.
From sitting in the library while I wait for recess to end.
And befriending the person that people thought was annoying when no one else would.

I am from fear
Of my mother’s punishments or my stepdad’s wrath
From being asked if I’d rather live with my dad if I like it there so much
And from being a failure that only gets disappointment from their mom
But, hey, at least she’d be giving me some attention.

I am from my father’s anxiety that was passed down to me.
And my mother’s “Irish” temper, as she calls it.
From my grandma’s passive attitude, pushing things deep down,
Until I blow up like a volcano, but the ammo doesn’t leave.

I am quite glad that this is what I am from.
I wouldn’t be me if I couldn’t fall into books when I wanted to leave but couldn’t.
I wouldn’t be me without the bitter fights and split either.
These things that I am from might seem little or seem overwhelming, but I assure you,
Without all the pieces of this puzzle, you wouldn’t be able to see this stellar picture,
I would not be the me that you all think you can perfectly see.