I was born in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania. I lived in Folcroftt, PA, but since my mom is from West Philadelphia, I spent a lot of time in the inner city, too. One day, the fill valve in our basement bathroom broke, and the entire basement was completely flooded, leaving us with mold once the water drained. Unfortunately, Hurricane Sandy delayed repair work. Since me and my older brother and little sister would go with my mother to Cape Cod every summer, my mom saw no reason not to do so that summer as well since it wasn't safe for us in our house as they worked. We'd been on the way to The Cape when my mother found out that rather than solving the problem, the mold remediators ended up spreading it throughout our entire house! In summary, we were homeless as it wasn't safe for us to live in the house anymore with that much mold. At first we stayed on The Cape and surrounding areas, then stayed in Burlington for a while. Eventually, our mother found us an apartment in North Andover, MA. So, we moved and would go on to live there for six years. In 2019, we made the move from the North Shore to the South Shore, where I currently live. Even though I was born and lived my early childhood in Pennsylvania and am proud that it is my home state, I feel as if Massachusetts is my home and where I'm the most comfortable. This isn't to say that I'm not a Philly girl at heart  (I'll always be an Eagles girl), I'm more so a combination of that mixed with being a New Englander, the two are a hybrid within me.  

– VJ

Relationship:  Im/migrant who arrived as a child Im/migrant who arrived as a child