With an abundance of hours at home, my collection of original Barbie Movie DVDs created memories I hold dear to my heart. With all the melodies these movies hold, I remember my soft voice singing along to each word. In the case of a duet, my older sister and I would alternate back and forth and eventually belt the chorus together in our childhood living room. Once a single note of a song jingled, we would jump up from the warmth of the couch, find our unassigned position on the amber wooden floor, and begin singing in unison. Unity is what these DVDs gifted me. More specifically, the unification of my family, which connects me to my Filipino culture. A culture in which family is everything. I am reminded of this value when I recollect how my grandparents brought my mom and her siblings to America from the Philippines to pursue nursing. Like many families impacted by immigration, my grandpa and grandma had to leave their treasured eldest son behind due to legal reasons. Although a few siblings sought a different career path, my mother followed the path expected of her by working as a nurse in the intensive care unit. She reminds me of Barbie in the sense that she is a hardworking woman. With my mom always at work, my sister watched over, cooked, and cared for my brother and me. Growing up, it was hard to distinguish when she was a parent or a sister. Nonetheless, once a single second of any Barbie Movie played, I knew we were simply just sisters. Sisters who skipped around the living room and sang along to Barbie Movie DVDs. 

– Julea Hofilena

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