If you think about it, about it, a little over a hundred years ago, the Western United States was pretty wild. 

Except for the Natives who lived there, the land was relatively untouched. When the United States bought the remainder of what is now the US, and everyone kind of wanted to know what we had purchased. Slowly over time, pioneers and settlers started moving West, beginning new homesteads and towns in this unexplored region. 

This brings about that idea of Children of the West. 

I have lived in California my whole life, and I feel this identifies with me. But I have family spread all across the country, so where do I actually belong?

Honestly, I don't think it actually matters. You can be a Child of the West if that's what's important to you. Our ancestors may or may not have been pioneers of the West. But this is where I (you) am now. 

So being a child of the West isn't based on facts, or where you were born, or even who your ancestors were. It's a personal identity, and you deciding where HOME is.

Has there been any moment in my life where you have felt grown up? That one day you become a woman, or a man.

That moment for me was one night, a few years ago. My brother was staying at a friend's house, and my parents were going to dinner. That evening, my mom told me to make sure to lock the house, feed the dogs, make dinner, and watch over my little sister. Because I were pretty young, that was the first night my parents had trusted us to stay home alone. Everything was going fine, until about an hour later when the power went out. My little sister was extremely frightened, but I remember lighting candles, bringing our dogs inside, and turning the television on, to help her feel more comfortable and safe. The power was still out for a while, but the as the TV blared, I remember feeling a sense of accomplished. My parents had trusted me, and I had kept their trust that night. That was one of the moments I grew up.