Who Am I? (Creative Writing)

This is my all time favorite writing exercise and I got it from Granny Nanny. I love it because it allows you to pull out of yourself the things that wouldn't normally come to mind when you think of who you are. It makes you go beyond "I am a wife, a mother, a teacher," and think about the little things that molded you into what you are, as well as the heritage you hold on to.

After you read mine, feel free to fill in the template and form your own "Who Am I?"

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I am from handmade quilts tied with love on a livingroom floor,

from tall glasses of ice-cold Lipton tea that only Mom can make just right

and Dad's yellow cake with chocolate frosting for breakfast.

I am from run down,

pieced together,

and the smell of sweet alfalfa after a warm summer's rain.

I am from the annoying musk thistle,

the persistant goathead sticker.

I am from branding on a hot Sunday afternoon

and my Father's cold blue eyes;

from Cleta

and Elsie

and Beulah

I am from very bull-headed

and slightly redneck.

From "don't steal from me"

and "don't lie to me."

I am from the Mormon Tabernacle

and Mother Earth,

where Spirit is something unique to each of us.

I am from a small midwest town

and the pioneers who traveled across these plains,

homemade noodles

and goulash.

From the baseball player who chose to farm,

the man who took in another's children,

and the one who never cared for his own.

I am from the boxes in my mother's basement,

a hopechest full of memories,

and the love that holds my family together.

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Your turn!

CREATIVE WRITING TEMPLATE

I am from _______ (specific ordinary item),

from _______ (product name)

and _______ (anything).

I am from the _______ (home description... adjective, adjective, sensory detail).

I am from the _______ (plant, flower, natural item),

the _______ (plant, flower, natural detail)

I am from _______ (family tradition)

and _______ (family trait),

from _______ (name of family member)

and _______ (another family name)

and _______ (family name).

I am from the _______ (description of family tendency)

and _______ (another one).

From _______ (something you were told as a child)

and _______ (another).

I am from (representation of religion, or lack of it).

(Further description.)

I'm from _______ (place of birth and family ancestry),

_______ (two food items representing your family).

From the _______ (specific family story about a specific person and detail),

the _______ (another detail),

and the _______ (another detail about another family member).

I am from _______ (location of family pictures, mementos, archives and several more lines indicating their worth).

You can elaborate as much (or as little) as you want. Either way, it is a neat way to look at yourself.