Even if you are from the same neighborhood as someone else, you might still be coming from different places. Where you are from is a complicated question and it elicits complicated, but interesting and thought-provoking responses. We’ve shared some of those responses below.

Kylie Bearse | Meteorologist, Creator of Approachable Outdoors

My whole life I’ve hated the question: ‘where are you from?’ Because I genuinely don’t have an answer that satisfies most people’s curiosity. I spent my childhood moving every three years for my dad’s job. Surprisingly not military, but rather just regular corporate America; my dad was a Regional Sales Manager for Hershey Chocolate (yes, I got as much free chocolate as my heart desired.) Read more>>

Rose Dernburg | Actress/ Model

I’m a haitian! Born in Haiti, raised in France. During my life journey I made a first stop in the United States by the age of 3 when my mom first adopted me and my brother. We stayed for 3 years and then moved to France where I did all of my schooling. During that time I had to deal with racism and mockery. But despite that I kept a smile on ly face and continued being nice and helpfum to the others, but at the end I left. Read more>>

Pedro Meyer | Musician & Songwriter

My background might just be the single most important thing that contributed to where I am right now with music. I was born and raised in Brazil and took an interest in music early on in my life thanks to my dad who was a great musician and composer. I lived with my grandmother, who would take care of me and my brother while my mom, who was divorced, went to work. Therefore, I never had anyone to take me to guitar lessons, and because my neighborhood was too dangerous, my mother didn’t allow me to walk to lessons until I was 14, where I would play with my mom’s friends’ grandfather guitar. Because of tight finances, I didn’t have my first electric guitar until I was 16. Read more>>

Fatai William | Artist

My name is Fatai William and I am from Lagos, Nigeria. I was molded around my culture ‘Yoruba” which is my native language. From my choice of food to what how I speak and what I wear s all a result of my culture and upbringing Read more>>

Shannon Wolf | Writer and College Instructor

I’m originally from the UK, specifically a very small town called Ilminster, in the South-West of England. I moved a lot as a child, and I’m a member of a blended family that has felt dysfunctional over the years, to say the least. My paternal family has been in the car business for two generations, and my mother, originally from Scotland herself, is the youngest of ten children, and has been a care worker for adults with learning difficulties since I was a teenager. My mother always encouraged my love of reading and would take me to libraries all over the county as I would often exhaust the local collections. Read more>>

Dave Won | Founder of Budget Captain LLC

I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California to parents who are both immigrants of South Korea. I spent the majority of my childhood in Orange County, California. They instilled the importance of education and working hard in everything I did. I remember asking my dad if he could buy me a CD player when I was 12 years old and the first thing he said was … “you figure out how to get it”. That’s when the lightbulb went off in my head. Read more>>