My friend could not find his own sketchbook, his object of choice, but it looked fairly similar to the one in the picture.  He was born in New York City, but moved to his mother’s home country Brazil at six months old. His mother and he lived in Itaparica Island, Brazil for four years until his parents decided to get back together. Although he did have a decent understanding of the English language, he was used to speaking mostly Portuguese and Spanish. So when he moved to Chelsea, the people, the culture, the city was all new to him. The only thing that gave him a sense of home and helped him transition was his first sketchbook. He had acquired it when he was two years old, visiting some family in another part of Brazil known as Belo Horizonte. He had grabbed clay from a store and claimed it “mine,” so his mother bought him the clay and his first sketchbook there. For the first three months back in the states, he drew characters, objects, and complex words in sketchbook. “Eventually it got filled to the brim with drawings,” he explained.  He was a shy boy, so making friends was always difficult, and in a foreign country, even more so. His sketchbook allowed him to think freely and learn about the unfamiliar city of people around him.  After a while though, he opened up and began to understand how people behaved, becoming a social butterfly. He no longer needed the sketchbook as a guide, but would still draw through his years of adolescence until this day for pleasure. 

– Madison Paredes

Relationship:  Im/migrant who arrived as a child Im/migrant who arrived as a child