When J.D. Vance called himself a hillbilly, it made me mad. Now, I’m upset that he stopped.

I say this to explain why my identity is complicated. When people ask me where I’m from, they often get a long-winded answer, along the lines of: “My family is from Owsley County, Ky. I spent a lot of my childhood there. But I would say that I grew up in Berea, Ky. I moved away for a decade or so, then I moved back. Now, I live in Louisville.” I want to acknowledge that I am from eastern Kentucky, while recognizing that I am no longer of eastern Kentucky.