Jade. So significant in Chinese culture. Typically passed down from mother to daughter from one generation to the next. So what happens in the case where you are from the culture but seemingly don't have the generational ties? This story isn't mine and yet I feel so connected to it. My girlfriend is an adopted Immigrant from China. This is but a small collection of how her family prepared for her arrival. Her adoptive father and his side of the family are also immigrants, only from Hong Kong. Her grandmother took it upon herself to get my girlfriend a jade necklace saying, "We must keep with tradition, I won't have my granddaughter deprived of that." Meanwhile, the Foo dogs in the pictures, AKA Guardian lions, were culturally thought to be protectors of the truth in Buddhism, which go directly hand in hand with Buddha which is the religious icon of China. She doesn't have a direct attachment to them as she grew up Catholic but she cares for them as they symbolize her background. As for the ladybug bracelet, she is very fond of that. Her adoptive mother gave it to her the day she was adopted, and she especially loves her mother. It was also one of the first gifts she received from her new family that was entirely her own and wasn't worn out or passed down from others in an orphanage. So while Jade necklaces in Chinese society are believed to ward off evil spirits and are considered lucky, and Buddahs and foo dogs are protecters over family and fortune, but it's my girlfriend who thinks of herself as the lucky one to be in a family who completely welcomed and loved her. 

– Alyssa Angel

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