The memory of my grandma lives on with a specific rosary in my hand. Despite not always having it on my person, it holds great significance. My grandma is my inspiration in life; she was a former teacher who raised three children in a poverty-stricken community in the Philippines. In 1994, they moved to America. The Roman Catholic Church are important to Filipino culture, and my grandma was a strict follower. On Sundays, she would often wake up early to watch Sunday mass on the TV. When I was younger, I would sleep in the same room as my grandma, and I would often wake up to the faint noise and the small, dimly lit room where the TV was the only source of brightness. With tired eyes, the sight of my grandma sitting at the edge of the bed with the same rosary in her hand, head down as she prayed silently in the small room was always the first thing I woke up to. In June 2019, we watched the live-action movie of Aladdin, and my grandma felt a harsh pain in her chest. She ended up hospitalized and in need of a heart surgery. Shortly after in August 2019, my mother received a phone call from Spring Valley Hospital around 2 am. Restless hours later, my mom broke the news about our grandma’s code blue and then passing. We received the rest of my grandma’s belongings and her rosary now lives with me. As years passed, I still have the rosary near my bed and often pray before I go to bed as I do it for the remembrance of her and her legacy that made this family what we are today.

– Zia Escolar

Relationship:  Im/migrant Im/migrant