My grandmother has always been the unofficial family seamstress. Suffering through poverty and the Cultural Revolution, she was unable to gain higher education, despite excelling at school. To give her sons better opportunities, she immigrated from rural Xinhui at 49 through chain migration. She became a part of the wave of Chinese immigrants that flooded America's garment industry in the late 1900s. With no experience, she did menial work and picked up whatever skills she could. It was extremely difficult to re-establish her life, but she worked multiple jobs, including as a caretaker. This sewing kit was useful in both her profession and in mending her family's clothes to save every dime. She never gave up and eventually even became a naturalized citizen after three attempts. She has inspired me to be resilient and to maintain a growth mindset. Challenges can be overcome, just as clothes can be mended with Grandma’s sewing kit. Translation: "As an immigrant, I heard that when I got to America, I would make my living through making clothes, so I brought my own tools: large and small scissors, bobbins, and needles. The American sewing machines were different from China—they were electric. It was hard to make a living. I didn’t know anything. I could only clean and cook. Eventually, my boss said that after I finished, I could go down to the sweatshop to try sewing. I wanted to learn, so I started by sewing tags onto shirts. I was only paid 2 cents per tag, and I wasn’t able to make a living. But I had to face the hardships. If I didn’t work, how would I feed my family?"

– SW

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