My gold necklace my grandma gave me before dying. It was given to me when I was two years old. My dad told me his grandma gave it to his mom and my grandma gave it to me. I am her third granddaughter. I am from Haiti where there are a lot of crazy, magical things that happen. I always said my grandma gave it to me for a reason. My grandma was the bravest person from what I’ve heard. She always had her ways and knew what to do. People always sort of hated my family because of how we started from the bottom and made something for ourselves. I almost died when I was two, a woman tried to kill me by doing magic. I don’t really understand the stories, one day I stopped eating and walking and breathing. My parents rushed me to the hospital where I stayed for  a month. My grandma was making medicine for me the whole time. My parents brought me to her and she did what she had to and I got better. A few months later me and my mom’s side of the family got sent to America. I never took off my necklace, i think it protects me . My mom said I have never got that sick since then. We got to Florida and a week later the biggest earthquake happened in Haiti and I lost my grandma and other family members. They tell me this story all the time so I can do something big with the opportunity my grandma gave me.  My mom and aunt are nurses and I plan on becoming a lawyer. I graduate in two months at 16 years old (I skipped 7th grade). I worked hard to get where I am and the hard work is just starting. I will continue to wear my grandma’s necklace proudly, she chose to give it to me for a reason.

– helenemilceus

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