When my mother came to the United States in 1994, she came with the intent of staying. However, there were some memories from Venezuela that she couldn't leave behind, and she brought them with her to the U.S. 

A photo, from a very long time ago, shown in the peeling corners and the blurry image quality. An old photo, but an important one nonetheless. My mother was only four or five years old in that photo, standing next to her father, her mother, and her older sister. It was her mother's birthday, and they were celebrating when that photo was taken. They are my family, mi abuelo, mi abuela, and mi tia. My other tia wasn't there - she wasn't even born yet when that photo was taken.

Two trinkets from an airport in Venezuela, probably meant to be a souvenir for a traveling tourist, but it would become a prized treasure that would remind my mother of home. They depict the Guajiros, a tribe of indigenous people from her home city in Maracaibo. Those sandals shown in the photo looked just like the ones that mi abuelo loved to wear.

And a photo taken right before my mother came to New York, moments before she got on the plane. Leaving behind her home in Venezuela on October 31, 1994, my mother was ready to find a new home right here in New York City. 

– KS

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