Where are you from?

Yesterday I was at an event where I met some new people. One of them asked me “Where are you from?” It seems like a simple question. And for many people the answer is really quite easy. They are people who have only lived in one place. They have spent their whole life in a rather small geographical area. So, yes, their answer is easy.

Yesterday I didn’t know how to answer the question “where are you from?” And, as I explained to this person about my different moves over the years, and the different places where I have called home, I realized I did not have ‘that one place’ that I consider the place I come from.

I was born in Columbus, Ohio. Then my family moved to Rockville, Maryland while I was still very young. A toddler. I have no memory at all of living in Columbus. I have a few memories of life in Rockville but I think part of it comes from looking at old photographs and hearing stories. When I was starting elementary school, my family moved to Cleveland Heights, Ohio. I think that is where I have the first recollections in my mind. I remember experiences there. We lived in Cleveland Heights until a move took us to a smaller town in Ohio, Bucyrus, when I entered the 8th grade. We lived there until the summer before my senior high school and my parents went back to Maryland, to the Baltimore area.

I finished high school there (one year). Then I went back to Columbus, Ohio for college – for two years. Unsure of my major and unsure of what I wanted to do I took a year off and worked. And, then I went back to Baltimore where I finished my undergraduate degree at Towson State University.

Are you keeping up with the moves?

After graduation I got my first real job and I continued to live in the Baltimore area. That is, until I fell in love and became engaged and moved to Norfolk, Virginia. My fiancé lived there. But, within a year, as newlyweds, we moved across country for job opportunities for him. We first landed in Redding, California, way up north in the state. After just 2 years, and a job promotion for my hubby, we moved to Pleasanton, California, part of the East bay area near San Francisco.

That’s not all. We kept moving!

We got a great offer on our home in Pleasanton that we could not ignore, so we packed up and moved to Discovery Bay, California. But, our children were little and the East Coast was calling us to go back. We were not even at Discovery Bay for a year.

So, we moved to Marietta, Georgia. First we lived in a rental home, and then we moved into a home we bought there.

Job changes and more opportunities continued and we moved our family to Frederick, Maryland. After a few years another job promotion took us to Sparta, New Jersey. Thankfully, we lived there for all of our daughters’ school years, first through twelfth. After 12 years we headed away from the cold and the snow, and we settled in South Carolina.

Since that time, we have owned a few homes in Pawleys Island and now we are living in the Georgetown area. We are planning no more moves!! It is finally nice to stay put and we have been here in South Carolina almost 20 years.

So – where is home? Where do I call my place?

Well, here, right now, is home. For sure.

Ohio is my birthplace and I have family roots there. But I only lived there on and off during my childhood. I had important years in Maryland too. I had my first adult years (first full time job and first apartment) in Maryland. Does that count?

So, when someone asks me “where are you from?” I truly do not have an answer.

I have considered all of my moves (ok, maybe not the one to NJ) as exciting adventures. Actually, living in New Jersey turned out to be a perfect place for raising our family – with good schools, sports, music education and all that NYC had to offer just an hour away (especially musical theatre and restaurants!)

I sometimes look at those who were born, grew up, and still live in the same place as lucky people. They have deep roots. But, because I have moved so many times I have learned to be flexible. I have learned to live among all kinds of people. I have learned that geography is different but good people are everywhere. I have learned EVERY place has awesome offerings but also problems. I have gotten stronger from all the changes. I will say I started out pretty independent and it has served me well over the years and all the moves.

So, how to answer ‘where are you from?’ I’m still not sure.