In 1975, my great grandma decided to move to America. She wanted to move to America to see what pictures in the magazine looked like in real life. Her husband, my great grandpa, has passed away when he was about 40 years old so she wanted to leave her past behind her and move on. She hardly cared about her kids so she decided to leave them behind in the Philippines. Her eldest son, my favorite grandpa, had to be in charge of all of his brothers and sisters.

          As my grandpa was taking care of all of his siblings, he always told stories about how living in the Philippines was and how he took care of them. My grandpa always told me that there were lots of good fruits to eat and living there was a difficult. It was difficult for him to live because he was poor and their mother would not provide for them so my grandpa provided not only for him, but for his siblings as well. He would say that when it came to cooking eggs, he could only get one or two eggs to feed seven children.

          Many years later, my grandparents and their siblings have finally decided to move to the United States around the 1980s. They all decided to move here for the same reasons as their mother....to live a better life as well. They were always told, “America is very beautiful and very easy to live in than the Philippines.” That obviously made them think to themselves. It was kind of a very difficult decision.

         It is difficult to move to different places because when you’re so used to living in one spot for your whole life and you’re ready to move to somewhere new, you also realize that you have to give up a lot. Especially when it comes to crossing the border, you can only bring a few items and most of those items are for your survival. That was the reason my grandparents were having a hard time to choose; having to leave everything they loved behind. But luckily, they finally decided it was time to leave and have a new, fresh start.

         When it came to crossing the border, it was actually easier than walking. My grandparents actually already had their paperwork in and were already legal enough. They have never told me how this happened because I have never asked. Besides that, they actually had their passports ready as well. So when they came to America, they flew in with an airplane. Very simple compared to a lot of crossing the border stories but they were lucky enough to be able to have their paperwork in.

         What all of my grandparents have learned from moving is that they miss their hometown very much. Even though we’re all happy here, nothing will feel like home like their first home. They miss the fact that being in the Philippines was more cultural because everything in the Philippines was made by hand, from scratch, and the foods were more flavorful. Yes, America already has everything for you but it’s expensive and when things come from scratch with your own work, that’s when everything feels like home because you designed it for yourself and your loved ones.

         Although, my grandparents all migrated to Philippines all the way to America, they are the smartest group of people I know. They are old of course, which means they are filled with lots of story and knowledge. They have become so wise and humble, they make me feel like I am blessed enough to even live in America with them. These people have gone through so many hardships together or alone and they have survived every single one of them and still are. Nothing can ever beat that.