Sophia Suzuki was born and raised in Japan where spent most of her time with her grandmother. Her parents had passed away in a car accident. Having to deal with many stressful situations in life, she used art and craft as a remedy. But her living condition in Japan was not very good as they did not have much support and her job as an art instructor did not pay her enough. With advisement from her colleagues at work, she started looking out for opportunities in the United States. She used to tell me that her grandmother disliked the idea of even going to the US, let alone working there because her grandfather was kept in internment camps where he died of heart disease. It was hard for her to explain to her grandmother at first. But since she had been working two jobs for six years, with almost 60 to 70 hours a week, and still struggling to maintain good living conditions for herself and her grandmother, it became a necessity rather than a choice. She had found the perfect opportunity for her in the US as a full-time art teacher. She first left Japan by herself, and her grandmother gave her the yellow lucky cat and kept the black one for herself, telling her, "I hope all the obstacles and hindrances be out of your way, and I hope these cats will bring us back together." Sophia managed to bring her grandmother to the US within in a year. Although her grandmother has passed away, she still has the two lucky cats which still reminds her of the reunion with her grandmother.

– Bishistha Shrestha

Relationship:  Im/migrant Im/migrant