These earrings were a gift to me from my grandparents that I got when I visited them in Los Angeles. My grandma presented them to me in a small box after we got home, and I loved them so much. They’re a symbol of travel and adventure, and they remind me of my favorite place in the world.Every February, my grandparents leave their cozy St. Paul home and travel to California to escape the harsh Minnesota winter. The first time I traveled to see them in Los Angeles was during spring break of 2024. I flew alone, and felt like I had VIP treatment. I was in the very back of the plane, with a window seat and nobody sitting near me. The night before, I had downloaded about a billion hours of Netflix content (the flight was about 4 hours). As the plane circled around the ocean and descended to LAX, I was SO excited to finally arrive to this “new world.” An attendant led me through the airport while I was juggling my luggage and trying to get a peek of the outside. My grandparents welcomed me with hugs, and I remember my grandpa saying: “You’re going to just love it here, Jack.” On the drive home, my eyes were diamonds, glimmering and shining trying to take in it all. I had never seen so much life and spirit at once. My grandma gave me these earrings, and I loved them right away. She told me she got them for me because of how I loved their dog, Goldie. Throughout the rest of the trip, I wore the earrings every single day, and now they’re a central memory from that life-changing trip.

– Jack G.

Relationship:  Im/migrant Im/migrant