My parents were classmates back in high school in China. My dad immigrated to Boston, Massachusetts in 1996 to meet up with his 3rd oldest sister. My mom immigrated to New York City, New York in 1999. They then met up in New York during the same year. They lived in New York together until 2002 when they moved to Boston, MA and got married in 2003. The Buddha necklace is special because after each child is born in the family, they receive a Buddha necklace to wear. For a boy, they wear a male version of Buddha and for a girl, they wear a female version of Buddha. The Buddha pendant is brought all the way from China and it is worn as a symbol of safety and good health. It is strung with red thread because the color red means good luck in our culture. The Buddha necklace is important to my culture because it keeps the values that we believe in close to us and when there is trouble we always have something to give us hope. The Buddha pendant was given to me to wear when I was very young and I will wear it for the rest of my life. Every member of my family has a Buddha necklace. My story is unique because it isn't like any other story and it tells a little about what my family believes in and what items are very important to us.

– SZ

Relationship:  Child of im/migrant Child of im/migrant