My mother migrated from Ecuador to the U.S, and said the journey was not so hard, but risky at times due to the police, border, and rapists.  My mother was 13 years old when making this journey, and one thing she bought from Ecuador was this Gold bracelet, which stayed on her the whole time when coming to the U.S. Since then it had stayed on her until one day she gave it to me on christmas. The story behind it is very unique, and this bracelet symbolizes a lot of things, for an example when she was coming to the U.S she had to go through a lot of obstacles, and one thing she told me was “I was kid, and I enjoyed walking, running, and swimming across waters, so when it came to migrating to the U.S the trip was not as bad”, but when night hit it became very dangerous due to the fact that there's  a lot of strangers, and people with different intentions, and sadly some of my mom’s friends were raped, and killed, and others even drowned when going through the river because of water currents. This bracelet symbolizes both strength, and perseverance which is why I carry it all the time, and knowing what my mother had to go through to get a better life makes me always want to always strive for the best. 

– Patricio Quito

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