My parents met at John D. O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science in Boston. Before then, my mother immigrated to America at age 8 from the city of Saigon, Vietnam around 1985. Her father snuck aboard a ship headed to Thailand and from there on, found a sponsor to bring him to America. After landing in Boston, he worked hard to make enough money to bring his whole family over. My dad emigrated from a village in Canton, China at around age 10-11 with his parents and older brother. They came from generations of farmers in China’s rural south, living off of almost only what they could provide for themselves or with the help of neighbors. They got married and then my mother gave birth to me two years later. After a month, a celebration was held to commemorate my birth. One month celebrations are a common Chinese tradition and gold is the essential present given to the new addition in the family. In Chinese culture, gold represents wealth and is used to attract prosperity. This relates to other immigrant stories as even though my parents came from unideal conditions, they were able to work hard enough to create the future they imagined America could provide for them and their family. 
The gold I've received, especially in the form of jewelry, holds a special place in my heart because it makes me feel more connected to my culture despite not being as fully emerged in it as I could. 

– KC

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