My mom was living in Poland when Communism was very much rampant throughout the country, when government censorship was as common as eating potatoes with meat for dinner. She often tells me that while growing up, she had no idea that the country - that she - was "suffering." It had never felt like that to her until she left for America in 1987. She reassures me that her time there was not as terrible as most would think, and it was mostly due to the fact that her family was always close by and there for her - specifically her grandmother. My mom told me in the past that her grandmother was a bit of a rebel and a very bold woman, and quickly became someone she could look up to. Her grandmother had been alive during WWII and helped Jewish people hide and escape from Nazis who would stop by and search her house. Not only that, but her grandmother often traveled to Russia to sell and purchase items (jewelry) which she sold back for even more profit in Poland. This was illegal at the time and was very risky to do. This is where my family's migration object comes from: an 18 karat ring made out of Russian gold. It was given to my mother from her grandmother before my mother left for Poland for good. My mom recalls her grandmother saying "this will be the last time we will see each other," and my mother adamantly denied it, but found out that only three years later, her grandmother passed away. It is the last memory my mother has of an inspiring woman, and the home she left behind.

– Annaveronica Rodriguez

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