I'm a Child of the WorldOne of the questions I was asked most frequently when I got to college was "where are you from?" Unlike most students, I could not quickly answer this question. While many students have spent much of their lives in one or two areas, my feeling of "home" wasn't so simple. I was born in Canada and lived there until I was seven; then my family moved to Belgium. After five years in Belgium, we moved to Minnesota, where I spent my high school years. When I left for college, my parents moved to Switzerland and have since divorced. My mother currently lives in Minnesota and my father resides in Liechtenstein. I am still a Canadian citizen, but I have permanent residency status in the United States. While these events could have led to a confused identity and a sense of homelessness, I believe my experiences have given me a unique perspective on the world and the ability to feel "at home" wherever I am. The experience of living in Europe was one of the most important aspects of my personal development, as exposure to different things at a young age gave me a broad view of the world that I would not have gained by staying in the same place. Daily life in a foreign country teaches you to have patience, respect and tolerance towards people who speak a different language and have different customs. Cultural differences can make simple tasks like going to the grocery store difficult at first, but over time my family adapted to the norms of Belgian culture. The opportunity to travel throughout Europe also gave me a unique set of experiences that have stayed with me. After all, how many Canadian ten-year-olds have stood in awe of the Acropolis or sensed the darkness of Normandy's war cemeteries? These experiences, combined with my Canadian heritage, provided an important background for developing a sense of respect for those who are different, a sense that I found lacking in American society. Although my experiences abroad have contributed a lot to my personal growth, they have also made it difficult to identify with a place as home. Minnesota became the closest thing to home after spending my adolescence there, but my parents' divorce during my sophomore year of college further tested my ability to maintain a sense of identity.