Where are you from?

Ah, the question that strikes all international individuals. Well, that depends on what exactly you're asking. Do you want my life story? Just where I was born? Or maybe where I feel most at home?

In short: I was born in Canada. Moved to Palm Springs at 13. The next year, I went off to boarding school in Ojai, California. After that? Lived in LA. I changed schools four times in three years.

At boarding school, I met people from all over the world. Strangely, the people who felt most like home weren’t always my closest friends, they were the ones who said one word differently, or brought up a snack from home, or casually mentioned that little Chinese spot on the corner of 15th I’d completely forgotten about. Suddenly, I remembered how it felt to belong. But then, he said it.

We were good friends, closest friends even. And still, he said the most devastating sentence of my year: “You’re not even Canadian.”

That crushed me.

Suddenly, I was "the girl from California." People tagged me with American flags online. It wasn’t just inaccurate, it felt like a criticism. Like I had betrayed where I came from. It made me question something I had never thought to doubt before. Maybe he was right. I didn’t act like I was from there. But I was. That time in my life was heavy. The environment felt depressing. And for the first time, I realized I had taken everything I had for granted.

So where am I really from? The answer is obvious.

Next question, please.