Even though my parents are both immigrants from Trinidad & Tobago, they came to the US during different stages of their lives. My father moved here in the 1970s when he was 13 years old and has, therefore, spent most of his life in the US. My mother, on the other hand, came here in 1990 when she was 25 and found it harder to adjust to this country. My parents started dating a little while after my mother arrived in the country and after a while, my father noticed that my mother still struggled with her confidence. So, he went out and bought her this set of Empowerment Cards that has 50 cards full of encouraging messages and images.

I remember playing with these cards when I was much younger because they were the closest things I had to playing cards. I knew I wasn't supposed to mess around with them, however, because my mother would always make sure that none of the cards were bent and that they were always placed back neatly in the box. Eventually, I forgot that these cards even existed until a couple of weeks ago when I was looking through my mother's drawer and found the box sitting in the corner. Today was the first time I ever asked my parents the story behind these cards and it's nice to know that these cards helped my mother gain the confidence that she has now. It's also very comforting knowing that my father wanted my mother to feel as powerful as she felt back home in Trinidad. 
 

– Ashley L. Sealy

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