Immigration is not a widely discussed topic in my family. In fact, discussion of my origins usually doesn’t go deeper than the occasional “you’re Irish, right?” that I receive from people observing my red hair and pale skin. When reflecting on my heritage and the immigration of my ancestors from Ireland and Germany, the aspects that are important to me go beyond physical location. I feel that it is not where you are, but what you accomplish while you are there that is important. This concept is what led me to choose a newspaper article as my object for my story. The newspaper article that I chose is one that talks about my grandfather and father’s invention of a portable breathalyzer. This article fascinates me because my dad was so young when he created what was a very technologically advanced object in the small town where he lived. Although resources and money were limited, my grandfather and father still pushed themselves and their minds to be inventive and to achieve great things. This event in their lives paved the way for several more inventions and patents in later years, and the creativity that my grandfather instilled in my dad helped shape him into the intelligent and successful person he is today. My father has passed on this drive for creativity and inventiveness to me, and I view it as a kind of intangible family heirloom. Although my family has kept no material objects representing their physical immigration, the values that have been passed down remain extremely evident in my every day life. 

– MC.

Relationship:  Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more