Where I wish I was from instead:
California.
Italy.
Three of my aunts somehow managed to end up in California via Oklahoma. As a result, add one uncle and four cousins to the total.
So I'm thinking, it's in my blood.
Combine that with repeatedly watching Lords of Dogtown and a visit to see best friends in Malibu and L.A. and you've got every microfiber in my body longing for California, California, California...
Except, once I move there and run miles along the coast with my golden retriever, inevitably I will be asked where I'm from. And I'll have to answer Oklahoma. And I'll simultaneously become repulsed and homesick by this answer.
Because I'll never be a true California girl when Oklahoma is home. Especially when I know all the words to every song from the musical.
And despite the preconceived reputation I have to drag around as dead weight and my body that aches for escape, Oklahoma will always, unconditionally be home.
The same goes for Italy, where I spent the past hot summer's days gazing at art and the hot summer nights drinking wine on church steps until it became a comfortable routine.
Yet, I'll never fit. I'm from America. And not just America, but Oklahoma, America.
So, even though not in the literal sense, I'm always a tourist hacking apart the language in my proverbial neon fanny pack, money belt and Hawaiian shirt.
Of course, the Sooners did just make it to the National Championship. The Norman, Oklahoma Sooners.
So for right now, maybe this is exactly where I want to be from.
This blog is dedicated to Jenna Williams. Everyone should be so lucky as to have a friend that encourages and supports them.
