You might recognize this as a Mickey Mouse toy. You would be correct, but it is much more. My great aunt Coleen bought it the day I faced my fear at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.    My aunt Coleen’s favorite ride was Splash Mountain, and I was finally tall enough to ride.  My parents told me to go on it, because it would mean a lot to my great aunt. I argued but I agreed to go on it in the end. My favorite part turned out to be the end tunnel where I could finally say, ‘’I conquered Splash Mountain!’’  Aunt Coleen bought herself a Mickey toy to remember the time we all spent together. Later, after she died, this Mickey Mouse was given to me. This story reminds me of the fun and excitement that Great Aunt Coleen brought into my life before she passed. We did it together, with no one in our family watching from the bottom.   When I got older I started to appreciate more why that one little ride impacted my life. She had left this Mickey Mouse toy to me and I see it every day. The smile to remind me to find the fun in things, the shoes to tell me ‘’Keep walking, you’re almost there’’,  the round ears to make sure to listen for new possibilities, and Mickey Mouse’s dusty, red pants for the statement ‘’It is okay to get dirty’’.   The mouse stuffed animal is one of the objects that remind me of positivity and laughter. Those traits are what I was taught, and it was hard not to be when we all take time to enjoy the day together no matter where we are. 

– M.L

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