Introduction

Most introductions are easy and simple...Whats your name? Where are you from? 

Well it may seem strange but the second question always throws me off. 

Growing up I never thought of my life as different, strange, or unconventional. But when I answer the second question in an introduction with a new person it becomes apparent. Where am I from?

I have never had one place to associate with as home because I have grown up all over the world.

I hate answering the second question because I never know what to give as an answer. 

I was born in Germany, then moved to Fort Drum, New York and about three years later moved to Italy where I started kindergarten and my younger sister was born. After that we moved back to the US and out west to Colorado and from there back to New York. Then my parents split up and my father moved to Alabama, and my mom stayed in New York. Two years ago my dad moved to Texas, so now I split my breaks "home" in two different places, completely across the country. 

Now if that is confusing for you to read, imagine how confusing it is to grow up doing.

Most people tell me that I grew up in New York, that is my home because that's where I have lived the longest, but I would have to disagree. 

They didn't live in an all-Italian neighborhood where no one spoke English. They didn't have to ride an Italian public bus to school everyday at the age of 5, or learn to ski in the Alps, or swim in the Mediterranean, they didn't have "family" in Germany that spoke broken English. 

(I think they don't understand because they haven't walked a day in my shoes.)

So when most people ask me where I am from, I say I grew up all over and quickly avoid or change the subject. Most of the time it works and other times it doesn't and I have to explain. 

I think moving has influenced the person I am today both positively and negatively but also given me an advantage over most children who grow up in the same place. 

Positive

Cultured

Street Smart

Independent 

Organized

Optimistic

Personable

Negative

Guarded

Confused

Lost 

Shy

Always ready to move to the next place

Picky about Italian Food

I used to always wish that I hadn't moved around so much, that I was closer to my extended family, and that I had the same friends I did when I was a baby. 

Then I stopped and realized that I have experienced more in my 21 years then some people experience in a lifetime, and even though I didn't grow up around my extended family they love me just the same as the cousins who live near them, and I do still have the same friends I had when I was younger, we just don't live in the same areas and aren't as close as we used to be.

So my introduction to you is: 

Hi, my name is Nikki Filkins and I am your typical "Army Brat".