Where I am from
By Christine Tran
"Where are you from?"
LA—El Ay—Los Ángeles—Los
"No, where are you really from?"
I am from east of East LA, where urban meets suburban
I am from the sweat of brows in sweatshops and on construction sites
I am from roosters crowing in the morning
I am from the bright pink dragon fruit/thanh long/pitaya that grows in the yard
I am from VHS tapes at the local library on Central and Santa Anita
I am from karaoke LaserDiscs purchased in Little Sài Gòn
I am from Saturday morning cartoons, I Love Lucy , and KCET via TV rabbit ears (pre-YouTube)
I am from the Huntington Library when the cost of admission was per car, not per person
I am from bright blue bubble gum ice cream at Clark's Drugs
I am from bowls of phở, (pre- and post-Jonathan Gold reviews)
I am from Cup O' Noodles con limón with a bag of hot Cheetos con limón
I am from Sriracha when it was made in Rosemead (pre-hipsters)
I am from Swamp Meet haggles—“2 for $5? How about 2 for $4?”
I am from shopping at Fedco, Newberry, and Montgomery Ward (before Target and Amazon)
I am from Chinatown trips for 50 lbs. rice bags, bottles of nước mắm, and back-to-school clothes
I am from newspaper print PennySavers, before craigslist and eBay
I am from cubed turkey and mashed potato days at school, a favorite of the free lunches
I am from TV tapings as school fundraisers, the perks of living near Hollywood
I am from FBLA club meetings that taught me public speaking and parliamentary procedures
I am from that one 8th grade fieldtrip to UCLA that inspired me to move west, later across the country
I am from indigenous lands turned ranch, farms, suburbia, working class community, now gentrifying
I am from refugees who escaped war and poverty in search for new beginnings
I am from immigrants that make America great, again, and again
I am from a diaspora of scholars and activists in search for old and new Memories of (South) El Monte