For as long as I can remember my family has had a tradition of entrepreneurship and pushing the envelope on what’s possible. From my dad’s waterproofing company to my great grandfather’s embroidery shop, to my grandmother's cousin inventing the barcode to my aunt and uncle founding a cidery, to my great great grandmother’s community center. There has always been an expectation to succeed in your ventures and invent things that make everyday life easier and more beautiful. Of these ventures one stands out as more interesting in a historical context and clearly describes what America offers immigrants in the form of a second chance through hard work and perseverance. My great grandfather’s embroidery shop. This shop served as my family’s first tie to the United States, as my great great grandfather was very wealthy within Italy and our ties laid in Italy for a while, until my great great grandfather got behind on his finances in Italy and forced our family to move to the United States, during the time that he was wealthy he invested heavily in his daughters to teach them how to embroider. When my family arrived in the US all of our wealth was left behind so we started from nothing and this led my great aunt to found an embroidery store in New York City which was later passed down to my great grandfather. This story clearly illustrates the American dream (and more broadly what it means to be American) where you can arrive in the US with nothing but your skills and earn your way through hard work.

– JC

Relationship:  Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more