The artifact I would like to share is a necklace I received from my cousin as a gift. It features a small porcelain figure of Buddha Amitabha that is attached to a red string. When my cousin was a young adult, she immigrated to America by herself in hopes of finding better opportunity. My mother, who is also an immigrant, allowed my cousin to stay with my family while she was still becoming accustomed to American life. It's been a little more than a decade now since my cousin came to America and now she has her own family and a successful business. She gave the necklace to my mother to show her gratitude and told her it was a gift for me. The necklace is suppose to bring good fortune to the wearer. My mother says my cousin wanted me to have it because she wanted me to have good fortune, like her. Personally, the necklace represents the plight that the previous generation of my family went through so that the current one could have a comfortable life.

– Jason Dong

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