Where Are You From? I'm a Human Being.

After graduating from college at 23, I left my hometown of Changsha. Later, I lived in Hangzhou for seven years, where my first child was born. Then, I spent nine years in Shanghai, and my second child was born there. After that, I lived in Los Angeles for two years, where my third child was born. Now, I’ve been living in Dallas for two years.

Many times we find it hard to answer the question, “Where are you from?” It has often left me puzzled.

When I lived in Shanghai, the locals didn’t consider us Shanghai residents even though I lived there for nine years. But returning to Changsha for the holidays, folks there didn’t recognize us as locals either, because we had been living in Shanghai for so long.

We’ve been in the U.S. for four years now, and often we’re still not seen as Americans because we immigrated from China. Yet when we go back to China, we’re often not seen as Chinese either, because we’ve lived in the US for four years and will be continuing to do so for a long time.

So, where are we really from?

It’s not just me; my kids are confused too. They often ask, “Where are we from, Dad?”

One day, 1 Peter 2:11 gave me a lot of confidence and comfort: “Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.”

This verse made me realize that whether we live in one place for our whole life or seem to drift among different cities and countries, we’re all really sojourners in this world.

Later, I told my kids, and reminded myself too: if we must answer the question, “Where are you from?” our answer is—we’re human beings.