Where I’m From Poems

Continuing with the theme of identity, are “Where I’m From Poems”. These poems are personalized by the writer, who identifies events, places, people, etc. who have had an impact on who they are. Lots of people choose to write about how they grew up. For example, their environment, favorite foods, and other things such as those. I have written many “Where I’m From Poems” and I have also had my students write them. I have found that students love to share their poems because the poems are about themselves, which they always love to discuss. My latest poem in which I recorded in my writer’s notebook is as follows:

Where I’m From: Abby Edwards

I am from divorced parents,

Who tried to make it work.

From green beans and yogurt

as dinner sides.

From playing outside until I was called in for supper.

Not wanting to leave the “magic beans” unattended.

From microwaved cookie dough and SpongeBob after school.

From “call me to let me know you got home safe.”

Saturday soccer games,

Sunday church services,

and bear hugs all the time.

From heart felt “I love you”‘s,

That I never had to second guess.

From homemade cards and quality time.

I’m so thankful to be where I’m from,

So lucky,

To have the memories that I do.

I am from love, support, and kindness.

From the harshness of my mother,

The gentleness of my father,

For parts of each,

make up me. ❤

I know that not everyone grows up in a loving household, and so I wanted to recognize how lucky I am to have grown up in one. Even though my parents got divorced when I was in school, I never had to second guess whether or not they loved me. They never made me choose between the two of them. They communicated and collaborated. Neither of them missed out on my sports games, or honor society recognitions. They made sure they were both present for all of my successes.

Today, I read Happy Like Soccer by Maribeth Boelts, and illustrated by Lauren Castillo. I loved this book, partly because soccer is the sport I played throughout my childhood. I started playing soccer as soon as I could, when I was in kindergarten, age four. I continued to play through sophomore year of high school. Junior year of high school I had to stop, because I needed to start working, which wasn’t feasible with all of the soccer games and practices that the sport demanded. I was really upset at first, because soccer was such a big part of my life. I had never experienced a season where I didn’t play (that I could remember). Soccer made me proud, and it kept me in shape. What I loved most though, was having my family there watching me, supporting me. Knowing that they were there in the audience made me want to run harder, faster, longer. It was so fulfilling to know that my family came to see me in my element, that they cared about what I cared about. So, I feel for Sierra when her aunt was unable to come support her. She had no one in the stands rooting for her, no one to show out for. I can’t imagine how sad she must have felt when her aunt was able to come to a game, only to have it canceled due to weather. Sierra’s ability to problem solve shows her determination to have her aunt see her play.

Something else I enjoyed about this book was that it highlighted something small — such as family support and a child’s yearning to have it. There was no big story line or complicated problem. The story was about something simple, a girl who wanted a family member to come see her participate in something she loved.

I think that this book shows how important adult support is for children, and how the little things matter so much to them.

This week I also read Shortcut by Donald Crews. This children’s book is very different from Happy Like Soccer. In this book, a few kids are on their way home. They decide to take the shortcut rather than follow the road. This choice almost caused them to get very hurt. Ultimately, they ran home and went the way they should have chosen to begin with. The last page says, “We walked home without a word. We didn’t tell Bigmama. We didn’t tell Mama. We didn’t tell anyone. We didn’t talk about what happened for a very long time. And we didn’t take the shortcut again.” This made me think about how some children may have childhood experiences that are difficult to discuss. Maybe they have painful memories or memories that had a very large impact on them. “Where I’m From” Poems give students the power to choose what they want to share about their past. They have the opportunity to open up about some difficult things, or they can choose to showcase happy/nostalgic moments. But, once more, it’s the student’s choice.

Boelts, M. (2012). Happy like soccer. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.

Crews, D. (1992). Shortcut. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books.