“Where are you from?”...In a certain context, this is a question that is filled with confusion, misinformation, and tension. There are many aspects within this question that have problems and the purpose of this article is to educate so that this question can be asked in a different, respectable, and less harmful way. First off, within a conversation, this question is commonly presented towards someone who outwardly appears to identify within a minority group. This is where the first problem arises. The common misconception behind this question manifests itself in a way where someone being presented this question often feels alienated and singled out because of how they outwardly identify. This single question can undermine the fact that millions of people of color have been born on U.S. soil and are no less American than anyone else who has been born in this country. Even if there is a clear understanding from the person asking this question that non-white people can be from America, they are still actively alienating others because they are positioning a person’s race over their nationality. There needs to be a clear understanding that there are differences between race, ethnicity, and nationality. See an article written by a fellow classmate of mine, Avani, relating to the difference between race and ethnicity here. Race is considered to be a classification based on a person’s appearance and other phenotypic traits. On the contrary, ethnicity is defined by a person’s cultural, linguistic, and religious factors. Someone can both identify with more than one race and ethnicity. Nationality is defined by the country and/or state which one person lives in. Nationality is something that can be classified as a factor contributing to someone’s ethnicity because the country that someone resides in can cause them to possess certain cultural and linguistic characteristics. For example, someone can identify their race as Black but can also be ethnically Jewish in addition to retaining an American nationality. When the question “Where are you from” comes up in conversation and is targeted towards a person of color, the person asking this question frequently does not understand these key differences. It is important to educate those who may make this mistake so they can understand that race has nothing to do with nationality. In addition to educating someone on race, ethnicity, and nationality, it could also be helpful to guide the person asking the question on how to respectfully and accurately ask questions pertaining to race, ethnicity, and nationality. One could suggest to a person curious of someone’s racial background to ask a question which does not include nationality or place of origin such as “where are you from”. However, it is important to also take into account how much someone’s curiosity can affect another’s feelings. When asking questions related to race, ethnicity, identity, etc. the person being asked these questions can feel as if their identity is being placed over someone's curiosity. Some ideas to consider to help prevent this from happening could include getting to know someone before asking them about their identity, allowing for the question to present itself organically, and being clear in how a question relating to someone's identity is asked. Specificity can be helpful when asking these kinds of questions such as “What is your cultural background?” or “What is your family heritage?” When people are educated about these differences they are less likely to pose questions which alienate and cause harm.