This ring is significant to me because it's not just a ring, it's my mothers ring that holds memories of my mom before I was born. She passed this ring down to me after I turned 14, and I can’t help but think about her experience growing up and her strong will to do what she did around my age. My mother came to this country when she was around my age from a village in Berbice, Guyana; which makes me wonder, if I was in her shoes could I have stood up and migrated to this country myself like she did? Looking at myself right now, even thinking about going away too far from home scares me, let alone traveling to another country. To get up and leave your home country where you grew up all your life is a very brave and courageous act that I couldn’t even hope to imagine. That’s what makes my mother so strong to me, and why this ring is so important to me, because it serves as a reminder for her resolve and determination. Looking at this from a cultural lens, leaving home to go start anew in another country is already very bizarre. Normally, in most brown families, we stick together as a whole and are very closely connected with one another. My mom would be considered an anomaly and rebellious and looked at as shameful for leaving her home and her family members behind in the eyes of other people. Yet, that still didn’t stop her from pursuing her own path and becoming her own person.
-Penelope S.

– PS.

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