I carry around in my bag all the time the funeral card for my mom. It shows the Holy Family so infant Jesus, Joseph, and Mary. I’m not the most religious of people. I do believe, of course, in God, and I’m Catholic and whatever. It reminds me of just the importance of family. More importantly, sort of in the literary perspective, it was my mom who first gave me the love of reading. My mom would take us, when I was four years old, to the Anaheim Public Library and just keep us there. It was a safe space, and more importantly, that’s really the only entertainment she could afford for her children. I credit my mom with beginning this lifelong not just fascination with books, but eventually that love for books turned into a love for writing. I wish I could carry my favorite book around, but I can’t really carry big huge volumes around in my bag. This little thing is always a reminder of literacy for me. My mom dropped out of school in ninth grade, and my dad had a fourth grade education. Yet they still pushed their children to want to read.

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