Many objects enter and leave our lives, often leaving no impact and no trace of it’s existence. We often give no second thoughts before tossing out something dysfunctional. For example, many of us would see a simple five dollar watch as a tool and will probably discard it when it stops running. But this was not the case for Mr. Ali, a small business owner in Elmhurst. Mr. Ali was an immigrant who worked extremely hard to reach where he is now. When he first arrived in the United States, he had close to nothing. But he had a goal: to bring his wife and children to this new land of opportunities. Thus, he worked three different jobs. Mr. Ali concentrated on saving all his money in hopes of bringing his family over even a day sooner. Because of this, he did not spend much money outside necessities. However, Mr. Ali did buy a five dollar watch, one of the first items he bought despite not absolutely needing it. To Mr. Ali, this watch was not just a watch. He stated that he used to stare at it from time to time and imagine the life of his wife and kids back home. Mr. Ali always smiled at 7P.M. because he would recall the smiling faces of his children sitting at the dinner table while his wife served delicious foods. Even though the watch itself was not connected to his family in any way, the memories that were drawn out by it were more precious than ever. As a result, Mr. Ali still treasures this watch, twenty five years later, and has it displayed in his house.

– Michelle Guo

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