The Question that I Hate

By Chiara Sala

Posted on May 3, 2026

Cover Image Title: A Tear Drop on the Heart of a Tulip

Cover Image by: Chris L.

Classification: Photography

Specifications: Resized from 4032 X 3024 pixels

Year: 2026

Location: Ontario, Canada

"Where are you from?”

They ask.

Such a simple question

They think.

But it starts

A mental calculation

Do I give the easy answer?

And live with the assumptions that come with it?

Or do I “here,

But I used to be from there”?

An answer that results in an explanation

That I don’t really want to give.

But the simple answer 

Denies the first twelve years of my life

Which, when you’re only nineteen

Is a lot.

So, do I give the easy answer?

The one with no extra questions attached?

Or do I answer in a way that recognizes

My history?

Description:

I moved away for university, to a school whose students are largely from out of town. One of the first questions that people ask, usually after the obligatory “what program are you in?” is “where are you from?” As someone who moved provinces at 12 years old, it’s a difficult question to answer. I can answer in one of two ways, one easier than the other, but in a way, inaccurate, because it ignores an entire 12 years of my life. But the other has too many questions attached. 

[ Writing Editor: Anonymous.  ]

[ Editor's Notes: “Where are you from?” I find this question difficult to answer, too. I understand that people, especially when they first meet, want polite conversation starters like this. I get it. But identity is a complex outcome shaped by years of experience, thoughts, and choices, and words often fall short of explaining or even simply representing part of the picture. There is a long track a person leaves behind before they meet a new friend. It is a line, not several points on it. “Where are you from?” is a question that typically asks for a point. Whether the answer is one or two points, it should not become a “label,” since most of the line remains unseen. ]