I’m from places wintry enough to give you frostbite within minutes,
others sweltering that you could cook an egg,
from sunny summers spent at the neighborhood pool,
to crisp winters sitting by the living room fire,
I’m from loving neighbors that we spent holidays with,
to the seclusion of the forest spent exploring alone,

I’m from ear piercing OU versus OSU rival football games,
to tailgating in front of  the crowded Miller stadium,
from driving Barbie Jeeps with the neighborhood kids,
to blue sky family lake days spent on the boat,
I’m from Saturday mornings watching Spongebob and Danny Phantom,
to 7 a.m. cross country meets spent in a suffocating tent,

I’m from the tree house that was the shack, house, and castle,
to the backyard trampoline used for tanning,
from the concussion resulted by a spinning contest,
to the satisfaction of receiving a varsity letter,
I’m from “Life only gets harder.”
to “Make the most of what you have.”
from an ample family of people not related to me,
to a pruned family of those who’ve changed with me.