I have worn a necklace almost every day since I was six years old. The original one which my great grandmother bought for me in the town I grew up in South Florida was lost when I was 16. At that point, my grandmother had passed away almost six years prior. I treasured that small Jewish star necklace and was heartbroken over its loss. When my mother’s younger brother had his Bar Mitzvah in Israel, my Great Grandmother took my mother to one of her favorite jewelry stores in Jerusalem and bought her a mezuzah necklace. My mother brought it with her when she moved to Israel 10 years later and then back to America. She held onto it until giving it to me when I was 16. This necklace that I wear daily represents so many important aspects of my life that I value. It represents the country that I was born in (Israel), my Jewish values and traditions, my close knit family, my own immigration to America, as well as the immigration journey of my parents and ancestors. 

– Sarina Maurice

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