One day at the supper table, we were talking about identities. Specifically, when you were born and raised in one country but are a citizen of another — how do you answer the question “Where are you from?”

Eleven-year-old Hannah, especially, struggles to think of herself as “from” or “belonging to” anywhere but this Asian country she has lived in all her life. Yet however much we may try to adapt to our host culture, she has been raised much more as an “alien” than a native.

I can’t remember now who said it first, but someone pointed out that she is, in fact, a natural born alien.

And so am I. Born and raised in one country, yet a citizen of Another. Like Hannah, I struggle to live fully here while always remembering that I am on my way Home.

How about you? When do you most feel like a natural born alien?