I Am From

I am from 

My hip-dysplasia harness and 

My teddy bear blanket 

I am from my dog that always slept beside me 

Even when my parents locked the door 

I am from my vicious nightmares 

That drove me to my mother’s bed 

And sharing a room with my sisters or brother 

Always on the upper bunk 

I am from my broken collarbone 

Fractured a week before kindergarten started 

And my love for stories 

Happy and sad 

I am from my love for animals 

Big and small 

And learning to cook 

Before I could even reach the stove 

I am from the joy of kindergarten 

And all that I learned 

From the lemon pound cake I made for my sixth birthday party 

And playing Dragonvale after I was supposed to be asleep 

I am from my love of Pokémon 

And my obsession with Yu-Gi-Oh 

Which carries on to today 

From my reluctance to learn to read 

To the absolute bookworm I am now 

I am from finding spiders and earwigs 

In every corner of our house 

And learning to be patient 

With a hard-of-hearing brother 

I am from learning I love writing 

Because my sister does 

And learning random medical nonsense 

Because my dad and sister quizzed me on it later 

I am from learning how to use an EpiPen 

In case my brother needed it 

From learning to hold my breath 

Because I hated the AeroChamber for my inhaler 

I am from depression that robbed me of my light 

And therapy and meds that brought it back 

From shyness and awkwardness 

To cool confidence 

I am from crippling disabilities 

And hopelessness after doctors told me I’d be wheelchair bound 

To hopeful wonder 

When we found a new treatment 

I am from humidity and mosquitoes 

And beaches with sand and fish 

From catching frogs during nightly walks 

And the sounds of crickets singing as I did 

I am from my love for music 

And the joy it brings 

As it speaks the words I cannot 

From learning to play the violin 

And singing despite my partially paralyzed vocal cords 

I am from that long walk with my sister 

Where it started pouring rain halfway through 

As we danced and splashed and laughed 

While we got soaked through our raincoats 

I am from knowing my siblings will always be my best friends 

Even though we all have separate plans for life 

And realizing that I can tell my parents anything 

Because they always accept me no matter what