As a kid my dad and my uncles didn't have much, all they had was a tv and they had to balance both school and work. As a child my uncle liked drawing and later had a passion for it, eventually throughout the years he got better, a few years passed and my grandparents made my dad and uncles aware that they would be coming to the U.S for a better life, my uncle had to temporarily leave his passion behind to focus on work. After arriving here and working here my uncle had free time, he used his free time to draw however due to family events he went back to Mexico, when he went back he drew a picture of "La Virgen De Guadalupe" it represents in Mexican culture and in our religion. A year later he came back to the U.S where he brought the picture with him a few years past and eventually I was a little kid with wonders on what that drawing meant, I asked him and he told me what it was and told me that he loved drawing he then gave me the picture and his back story about his life with my dad and my other uncles. He told me to always keep it with me because it is something special. To many people this may just be a drawing but to me this represents something bigger, to me it represents all the struggles my family went through and all the sacrifices they made and yet they still had hope to make their and our life better. When I see this picture I see the will to continue when times are hard. This picture represents me as a Mexican-American.

– Brian Leal

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