I Am From | Teen Ink

I Am From MAG

July 29, 2008
By WriterDancerLover GOLD, Fontana, California
WriterDancerLover GOLD, Fontana, California
15 articles 1 photo 25 comments

I am from
My green blankey and
Climbing out of my crib
From playing mermaid in the bathtub.

I am from walking my dog,
And the noise he made when I step on his tail.

I am from my sheep nightlight
And Blue’s Clues and the Berenstain Bears.
I am from spinning until
I can’t tell where I am and
Seeing the world upside-down.

I am from long days at school
And hurrying home to watch Pokémon.
From chocolate-chip cookies at
Grandma’s house.

I am from July days in the pool
And running through the sprinklers.
From my imaginary friends and
The games we used to play like
Doctor and patient and teacher and student.

I am from trips to the grocery store
And that time I fell out of the cart onto the
Sticky linoleum floor.

I am from the tap tap tap
Of my tap shoes that one week
That I decided to be a dancer.
I am from trying new things.

I am from rainy days
And board games,
Saturday cartoons and Cheerios.

I am from walks on the beach
And the sand on my feet,
And not wanting to go home after vacation.

I am from Barbies and Polly Pockets
From playing with my sister,
The other half of me.

I am from books and flashlights
And pens and paper.
From silence to screaming.

I am from tears on my pillow
And unanswered cries.
From holding your hand
And that look in your eyes.

I am from past and present
And dreams of the future.
I am from hard work and
Harder play.
And I am from writing down my thoughts
On a midsummer’s day.


The author's comments:
Recently I was thinking a lot about the good old days when i was just a little kid. This piece is mainly about some of my favorite things about my childhood, and it truly shows how i got where i am now.

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This article has 357 comments.


MirandaJo said...
on Feb. 3 2009 at 6:23 pm
Amazing!! Loved it, reminded me of my past, as a young happy kid. The poem is full of life!

on Jan. 29 2009 at 4:42 am
This is a fabulous poem which deserves an award. It shows the flashback on a childhood so long ago. I love it.

fellowwriter said...
on Jan. 29 2009 at 4:16 am
Hey! way to go, :) you should be proud you have really good rythum and deep thoughts in this one WAY TO GO CHRISTINE!!! :)

on Jan. 22 2009 at 4:10 am
To West:Wow! What an honor that is! Thank you very much, I am glad your students enjoyed this poem. It came from the heart! I would love to see some more of what your class came up with, because i thoroughly enjoyed the one you sent! I'm glad I could be an inspiration to other young writers out there!

west said...
on Jan. 20 2009 at 8:29 pm
Hey,

Just wanted you to know that I had my entire 8th grade English class use your poem as inspiration. I read through some wonderful work and many students thought your poem was great. One of my students also wrote the following and thought you may like it...

You ask me where i am from

and you ask me what makes me, me

and i am not too sure

how to answer this accurately



I wonder if you mean

the endless summers

or the incredible anxiety

Or if you mean the restless afternoons

or the blissful isolation

I am from the lemonade stands

but also from a feeling of lonlieness



I am from riding my bike

and also an amazing excitement

from adventuring around

and taking in my surroundings



So you ask me where i am from

and you ask me what makes me, me

and i think the answer could be

the friends i grew up with

and the ones still here with me

ur awesome! said...
on Jan. 14 2009 at 9:55 pm
beautiful poem, i could imagine all of it. i bet many people could relate to ur poem and keep writing!

littlebritt said...
on Jan. 14 2009 at 8:35 pm
this is so awesome! we just had to do this at the beginning of the year in my sophmore english class. it was a lot of fun to write this type of poem. you did an awesome job with yours.

Alyssa s. said...
on Jan. 14 2009 at 7:59 pm
good poem

Kittyluvsu said...
on Jan. 14 2009 at 4:08 pm
sweet poem reminds me alot of da childhood i wish i never had

Mickey said...
on Jan. 14 2009 at 3:49 pm
i like this poem it tells all about her life and its really cute in the begining

Alyssa s. said...
on Jan. 14 2009 at 3:48 pm
i really like your poem!! has good word choice to. keep up the good work!! (:

on Jan. 14 2009 at 3:00 pm
that was good and make it more powerful

crich897 said...
on Jan. 7 2009 at 12:53 am
When did I ever say that I was? When did I ever even allude to that ridiculous assumption?

Desertflower said...
on Jan. 6 2009 at 5:33 am
Crich897, you are not God.

jackielfult said...
on Jan. 5 2009 at 1:03 am
pretty good, i like the "i'm from.." idea

i thought the ending was a bit awkward though, like it was building up but then ended really abruptly

crich897 said...
on Jan. 2 2009 at 10:53 pm
Well, Christine, here are the links to a few of my pieces. None of them are very great - just some basic stuff.

I know I was a bit harsh on your work and I apologize for that. Any criticism from you (negative or otherwise) will be greatly appreciated and taken without offense.

Like I said, though, these are just some random pieces from my notebook - not really trying to do anything with these yet. But, here you go:



1.)TeenInk.com/raw/Poetry/article/72358/Candy-From-a-Baby/



2.)TeenInk.com/raw/Poetry/article/72365/Eyes-of-a-Scholar/



3.)TeenInk.com/raw/Poetry/article/72359/The-End-of-a-Fraud/

on Dec. 30 2008 at 4:27 am
For the record I am not "offended" by the critisisms of my poem. I merely felt that some of the statements were unnecessary and harsh. I appreciate comments and even critisisms, but keep in mind that this site should be for fun, and not so much of a competition. If people continue to leave such harsh comments on everyone's pages, the fun is taken out of Teen Ink! And thanks to everyone who left me a comment. i am glad to be reaching people in any way i can! And to julzgilmore, can you please send me the link to your poem in another comment? i cant seem to find it, but i would be glad to read it!



and also to crich897, would you mind sending a link to your poems? i would like to share your veiws, which could be a learning experience for the both of us.

on Dec. 28 2008 at 1:55 am
I love this poem so much. Keep on rockin' it sista! Don't let mean comments get to you because this is definitely something to be proud of... and just look at all the other poems you've published through other anthologies and such! You are well on your way to becoming a great writer.

42537292srw said...
on Dec. 25 2008 at 2:58 pm
I like it a little bit. It Doesn't make sense. I love twilight though

on Dec. 20 2008 at 3:36 am
I have never heard of Lyon. This poem was from the heart, but the author should not be so quick to take offense. I can't talk, so I am sorry for saying that. However, I am one to speak what another needs to hear.

I read this poem, and what comes to me is the good ole' innocent days where life was simple and the weight of the world didn't press on my shoulders every moment. When times were bright and expanses long and prentiful. I remember those days with a bitterness, because now they are gone. Thank you for reminding me of the past.

However, as good as the poem is, and much emotion as it brings out... you posted this poem on this site. People can take it and critisize as much as they want. It will effect you, mainly because every time someone says somethine negative, our hearts are lowered. That was not what these poeple were out to accomplish. They did not comment like that because they simply wanted to annoy you. They really just want to have a voice and me able to use it. You're in the world of writers now. Get used to it.

On a kinder note. (I am sorry to if I seem rather harsh, I hope his does not effect your opinion of me as a fellow writer) the poem was a winner, and it was beautiful in that poem way. I hope you write more, maybe improve. (everyone can improve)

Merry Christmas! =D