So for my six-word autobiography, I wrote: Don’t ask me where I’m from. Yeah. And when Miss Amber asked us to share, for once I didn’t hesitate. I read it aloud: “Don’t ask me where I’m from.” Silence. Head nods. Me, exhaling. I felt lighter just having said it. “Liliana, thanks for getting us started. Can you tell us more about why you chose those particular six words?” Miss Amber encouraged. “Well…” I refocused. “I’m sick of people asking me where I am from. No—where I am ‘from-from.’ I am sick of people assuming I wasn’t born in this country or that I don’t speak English or that I eat rice
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