In 1996, my grandfather bought a 1996 Mazda Miata for 16,000 dollars in cash and he was absolutely ecstatic. It was the perfect two person car at the time, and it was the car that every “car guy” wanted at the time. My grandfather passed away in 2005, and the Miatas ownership was under my dads. What was just a car shortly became something that was a staple to my childhood. My dad painted it in a deep black, changing its identity, but my grandpa's fuzzy dice remained in that car. Once my siblings and I were old enough that car became ours, and that Miata taught us everything we know about cars. My dad taught us how to do oil changes, how to jump the car when the battery stops working, how to put air in tires  and to understand the basics of a cars engine.I have so many memories of holding the flashlight for my dad as he worked on the car as my arm got so tired holding it.  It raised me in a way, and now my friends and I are rebuilding it even more. We added a turbo engine, and soon we will be using the Miata for drifting. I have a lot of nights in the garage and I hope someday my kids will be able to connect with the Miata like I do. This car is special to me because it is where my family and I revisit the past and where my friendships have come together. It is the record of what took place in the past that I get to ride around in.

– JS

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