About a month ago I packed my life and moved back to a home I never could claim, Detroit. I was physically born at the University of Michigan’s hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan, about an hour from Detroit. I lived on the University of Michigan’s campus for the first five years of my life. I spent every weekend in a suburb outside of Detroit with my maternal grandparents. Both of my parents are from the Detroit area but I never felt I could lay claim to Detroit. I moved from Michigan for St. Louis when I was five, then moved to Baltimore when I was nine where my family has been ever since.

When I’d lived in Baltimore for about 10 years I started to wonder what I would say when I left. Where would I say that I’m from? Was I from Baltimore, really? I lived in Baltimore city for about three years when my family first moved then we moved to a suburb right outside of the city for most of my time there. Did that disqualify me from claiming Baltimore to others? Sometimes when people ask where I’m from I give them a whole speech. “Well I was born in… but my parents are from… but I’ve been in Baltimore for…” it’s a mini biography. Usually people tune out pretty quickly and just smile and nod.

But I grew up living in the shadow of Detroit. My parents were Detroit exports when the Auto industry got their bailout and when the city filed for bankruptcy. Detroit got this spotlight that a lot of American cities will never understand. Suddenly everyone had an opinion on Detroit. So I developed this sense of pride for Detroit. I defended a city I had never lived in against people who would probably never step foot in the city. I felt like a fraud. That’s partially why I moved back. It’s time for me to learn about a city that has given me so much, raised the people who raised me and find out if I have anything to give back. Am I even allowed to take up space here?

Now that I’m back in Michigan (again, a suburb outside of Detroit, not quite Detroit) I’m forced to redefine home. Here, I tell people I’m from Baltimore…kinda. Baltimore gave me friends, jobs, and experiences I could only get there. I’ve spent most of my life there. Baltimore taught me about pride, about history and about art in a way that only Baltimore can. I can tell you my favorite places to dance, eat and shop. I can give you directions even when I’m not there.

But I’m 22 and possibly will live in many other places before I settle. I’ve always seen myself returning to Baltimore; laying real claim to a city that has already given me so much driving down Liberty Heights and remembering before there was a Target at Mondawmin. Telling someone how when I was a kid I