When my father and mother immigrated to the United States, finding their own place in the city and job to fulfill their livelihood was their top priority. A few years later, they had me as their firstborn and were beginning to settle into the hectic city life that is NYC. When I was 3 years old, they decided they wanted to return back to China to refresh themselves with the culture they were originally brought up in. When we went back, we were greeted by my mother's grandparents, who showered me with tons of gifts and admiration. When we eventually had to depart, I was given a parting gift - a set of wooden chopsticks and spoons. At age 5, my sister was born and the second spoon and chopstick found their new home. It leaves me and my sister with a great reminder of the journey my parents had to take to get to where they are today and the struggle they had to go through to assimilate into an entirely different culture whose language wasn't remotely similar to theirs. Even though they are currently exposed to and in contact with events and people that represent the American culture, their Chinese roots that have been ingrained in them since birth still permeate their everyday lives.

– Jackey Mei

Relationship:  unknown unknown