Statues of Buddha represent good luck and prosperity in my family’s culture. We bow and pray to shrines of him to show respect and ask for success and prosperity. This represents my family’s cultural identity since it is the biggest and most important piece of the experience they brought when migrating to a foreign land. My mother and her siblings did not have much growing up, and perseverance was the only means of life they knew of to become successful. They strove to use all efforts necessary in order to provide as much as possible for my grandparents. They would pray on a daily basis, holding incense in their hands and chanting a prayer in order to be heard by Buddha. Once traveling to America, they also brought along their faith, holding onto the hope they had. It is very inspiring to hear about my family’s unique story since they have faced countless, unimaginable obstacles. For example, my uncle was caught by the Công for trying to illegally flee Vietnam. He was imprisoned for several years (my family never specified how long he was jailed for) and later sneaked into America. Some details of how my family immigrated to Boston are yet to be specified, but I am sure to ask them. I am positive that I have friends that can relate to this story. We can all relate to how hard our family has worked to migrate from a struggling country to a land of opportunities where we have a better chance of fulfilling our dreams. Each and every one of us is more than grateful to be blessed with such chances and will use them to better our world’s future. 

– OP

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