Firsthand Stories

Where #ImFrom: A secret war

By Haylee Thikeo

You ask me, “Where are you from?” and begin guessing with China and Korea. After going through a list of Asian countries, you somehow end up at Hawaii. In a desperate attempt, you tell me I look Hawaiian to try to prove you know me.

Where #ImFrom: Both sides of the hyphen

By Ngozi Onike

I spent most of my childhood navigating two cultures. I grew up in South Bronx with Nigerian parents who never taught me to speak their Igbo dialect, but expected me to understand it. I was taught to greet my elders with…

Where #ImFrom: Not like Jackie Chan

By Michelle Huynh

In fifth grade, one of my classmates asked me where I was from. I told him I was from Santa Clara. He wasn’t satisfied with my answer. I told him I was from California. He wasn’t happy with that, either. I told him I was…

Where #ImFrom: This land right here

By Pamela J. Peters

Where am I from? I am indigenous to this land. I was born and raised on the Navajo Tribal Reservation in New Mexico and Arizona, where Indian life revolves around family, clans and community, where our native language is…

Where #ImFrom: A genetic roll of the dice

By Delondra Williams

My background is mixed, and my skin is light brown, so I look like everything. People aren’t sure whether I’m black, Middle Eastern, Italian, Indian or what. People from almost every ethnicity assume I am one…

Where #ImFrom: A diagnostic question

By Anh Ho

As a doctor, I get some of the most personal questions: Is it serious? How long do I have to live?

But there’s one question I get more than any other: Where are you from?

Where #ImFrom: Real-life aliens

By Matthew Claiborne

I was 10 years old when someone first asked me, “Where are you from?” The incident took place in a tiny Louisiana river town. I was playing in a city league basketball league and my predominantly black team found ourselves…

Where #ImFrom: Struggle for satisfaction

By Armand Cuevas

In Japan, more so than in America, I am reminded that I am not white.

The question of “Where are you from?” in a place as diverse as California was almost always innocuously aimed at your…