Gabriel Martinez

I had just moved to Seattle from Puerto Rico; it was my first summer here. At a party, in a casual conversation, someone said to me “I hear an accent, where are you from?”, to which I replied "Puerto Rico". 

“Oh... what are you doing here?”. I didn’t know if she meant “here” at that party, in Seattle, in the States... my face probably conveyed confusion. 

So she clarified. “Sorry, I’m from the East Coast and as far as I know, all Puerto Ricans migrate to New York or nearby. And this is pretty far for you.” 

That was the first time I remember feeling out of place. As if we either don’t belong or can only belong in certain specific places.