Everywhere and Nowhere Across the United States

Throughout my life, I have ardently disliked the question “Where are you from?”

To answer it, I work through a quick mental decision tree. Is the person I’m talking to American? If not, I say “the U.S.” and, if they request a state, I might name Louisiana or Virginia—dealer’s choice. There are times when I’m tempted to say Texas, the state my dad comes from, if for no other reason than it seems to be the only state besides California or New York that people abroad have a frame of reference for.