My father used to be very poor in Peru, and struggled to have a good life there. During high school, my mother met my father and they fell in love. My mother ended up immigrating to the U.S. with my grandmother when she was 17, in 1992, and brought my father years later. He got to the U.S. around the year 2001, but before he came, he bought a gold “C” in Peru with his saved money, it stands for our last name: Cadillo. My dad worked in a restaurant washing plates here, but this is not the job he wanted. He then started to look at the “C” every now and then for hope and encouragement. Another major conflict arose, my parents were starting to argue and ended up getting divorced in 2011. My father left and moved into different apartments several times with his friends; he was really poor. These were times where he once again looked at the “C” for hope, it spoke to him, it made him stronger and made him believe in a good future. He said, “It meant a lot to me, and it made me believe.” My dad’s life got much better especially thanks to the “C”. As a result of him seeing the “C” help him, he passed it down to me, so that it can help me on my journey to be successful here in the U.S.
 

– Gian Paul C.

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