When I turned 4, my grandfather had a stroke 3 months later. I was never able to communicate with the man he once was, the great man everybody told me about. All I knew was a man whose body had betrayed him, and whose bad decisions had finally caught up with him. In the spring of 2019, when I was 12, my grandfather finally passed away, a devastating event in my family's history and a tragic day in my own personal life. When I turned 13, my father gave me a gold pocket watch that had belonged to my grandfather. He recounted how my grandfather had purchased it as a gift for my father when he was 13, and how despite never being wealthy my grandfather always worked to provide for his family. My father recounted to me my grandfather's regrets in life, and how he wished he had made more of his life and done more things he enjoyed. It was for this reason I found so much meaning in this watch, as it represented the time that my grandfather never got back throughout his life. It represents my family and my lineage as it was a watch that my grandfather procured through his occupation as a jeweler, and it allows me to understand the items he dealt with on a day to day basis.It serves as a reminder to me to make the most of my life, practice healthy habits, and always be aware of the fleeting characteristics of human life. 

– Jagger

Relationship:  Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more