These objects were bought in a Chinese shop filled with beautiful items. I write my feelings, quotes, news/videos, so when I get older I can look back and remember my past. This journal and calligraphy pen traveled all the way from China to get to me. It went through planes, trains and cars to reach the US. This journal was made by hardworking individuals that live in China and get paid less for something that travels a great distance to get to where it's at now. It may be an object but just like my grandmother, travelled all around to reach the place it's at now. My grandmother traveled all over Mexico, had eighteen children, managed to get by and survive to get to the place that she's in. My mother was born in Durango, but moved because my grandmother heard of opportunities in Tijuana and there she taught my mother, how to sew; she learned to make the most of what little she had. Once my mother was old enough my grandmother decided to go to California; there my mother made the most of her skills my grandmother taught her, she knew her citizenship was the most important thing she could do and knew if she were to be treated fairly she would need to prove to the state that she's an American she wasn't born here like I was but she knew that all that time and effort that my grandmother spent traveling to get her children to where they are now would only benefit them further. My mother did the same for her children. My journal is used to record events like my grandmothers. 

– Jessica Parada Ruiz

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