Where I am From: A Child of the Moon by Samantha Sebesta

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I’ve been taking a class that pushed me as a writer. The course was advanced creative non-fiction. In today’s post, I’d like to share a poem I wrote called ‘Where I Am From.’ The poem is deeply personal. They’re pieces of my childhood, my family, and my roots. Writing this helped me reconnect with those moments and honor the people who made them meaningful. This poem is a tribute to my mother. She taught me to find beauty in chaos and to laugh even when things are hard. She lived life with a wild and open heart. My mother made life meaningful in ways I didn’t recognize until it was way too late. The poem challenged me to connect with memories that have shaped who I am today.

Sharing something this personal is more than a little scary. I’m a very introverted person who prefers quiet moments and generally keeps to myself. I don’t make opening up a habit. I hope that in reading my poem, though, you’ll not only learn a little more about me, but maybe even feel inspired to reflect where you’re from, who shaped you, and how far you’ve come. I believe that self-reflection can be highly beneficial. I never expected to be writing so much about myself for this writing course. That came out of left field. I didn’t see it coming at all.

I will start with my massive misunderstanding of creative nonfiction and what the course was actually about. I’m not fond of writing about myself. As a writer, I enjoy writing about other people. That is why I started my history blog. It was a way to share the stories of different people throughout history. None of these things are about me. I didn’t plan or expect the class to be so heavily focused on personal memoirs and life experiences. My expectation for nonfiction was that it would be about something true. That’s it. I never imagined how personal nonfiction could get. My writing has never been focused on me at this level. The entire experience was uncomfortable and challenging.

The class has given me a deeper appreciation for how personal stories can reveal universal truths. It reminded me that everyone carries something worth telling, even if I don’t prefer to tell my own. Writing personal pieces forced me to think more carefully about pacing and emotional tone, skills that I can also apply to historical storytelling and fiction. It taught me how to slow down and let a moment breathe. This class helped me clarify what kind of writer I am and what kind I’m not. That kind of self-awareness is valuable. I am certain that my passion lies in telling stories that matter throughout history, and I can now focus on developing that idea with greater confidence.

Despite all the misgivings I’ve had about writing about myself, I’ve learned a great deal about writing more vividly and honestly. This class has enabled me to discover a stronger voice. I’ve learned how to write with more conviction. My most significant improvement has been in using sensory details, such as sight, sound, smell, and touch, more effectively. That skill has me thinking a lot more about where I am as a writer. It has taught me to be more intentional in the words I use. To think more about what kind of picture I’m trying to express.

The focus has suddenly shifted more to discussing the best ways to tell a story. Writing about my memories and the experiences that have shaped my life has allowed me to reflect on what my ultimate aim and goals are. That has been incredibly difficult, but I think it has been a good thing. It’s far too easy to get stagnant. So, writing about myself and pushing my comfort levels helped me move beyond stagnation. I hope that my writing empowers people who have been overlooked in history, especially women. All the stories that have been forgotten. I want to bring their voices to life with the same sensory richness and emotional depth I’ve practiced in this class. That’s all I want.

Now onto the poem itself. I wrote this poem based on the following instructions: A “litany” is a repetition of a word or phrase. When used to start lines in a piece such as a poem, it creates an internal rhythm. In this case, the repeating words are variations of “I come from…” I enjoyed writing this and hope you all like it. I’m going to share it as an image because every single time, without fail, when I try to format a poem on a post, the whole thing gets out of whack and formats weirdly. I don’t know how to format a poem to look how I want on WordPress. So I am sharing the poem itself as an image. Thank you so very much, and please share your version of the poem. I would love to read yours!

© Samantha Sebesta and The Chronicles of History: Reading Into Our Past, 2025. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Samantha Sebesta with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

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