My Mom's Journey To America

At two years old, her family moved to the United States. A few years later, Gloria’s father became seriously ill. Gloria took care of him and her sister while her husband worked.

One thing was certain - I could count on was the advice of my family. Coming from a closely knit community, family support was a surety. They provided the support needed to my many cousins who embarked on this journey before me. No matter what doors being a Hamptonian was about to open, I could never forget them. Their sheer determination to see me succeed at anything I put my mind to provided me with enough motivation for the mission.

“Where was I, the girl or woman called Orleanna, as we traveled those roads and crossed the lines again and again? Swallowed by Nathan’s mission, body and soul” (Kingsolver 198), Orleanna Price reflects, looking back on her marriage to an emotionally abusive, religious zealot. Her entire being and life, as well as her children’s lives, are swallowed by the power of his barbed words and extreme beliefs. Over the course of The Poisonwood Bible, Orleanna struggles to free herself and her daughters from the power of her rage-filled and fanatical husband, and she is finally able to do so after she experiences the loss of her daughter. “I married a man who could never love me…

It didn’t take Okori long to find her; she knew from experience where the Princess would

Coming to AmericaThe year was 1948, and my grandmothers aunt and uncle came for a visit from Chicago to Germany to see their family. They had no children and had come to ask my grandmother if she would be interested in coming to Chicago to possibly live there w ith them. The idea of going appealed to her very much since her home city, Saarbrcken, was still partially destroyed from the WWII bombings. She always had the wanderlust in her blood coming from both sides of her family, so thinking about the towering skyscrapers, the bustling city streets, and the glamorous movies from America was quite enticing to my grandmother. With all off these wondrous thoughts swimming through her head, she enthusiastically agreed to go.Now, it was time to prepare

she was from that negative environment the better her life would be. In multiple stories

For my oral history project, I decided to interview my mother. I am pretty close with my mom, as we talk daily, and I am comfortable often to seek advice from her. A challenge that I faced was trying to find an appropriate date and time for the interview. My mom works six days a week, and I am often preoccupied with classes and school work. Another challenge was my mom’s hesitation with going into too much detail about her experiences. In addition, it was difficult to interview another family member such as a relative because I was not particularly close with my uncles or aunts, nor were any of them easy to contact due to variations in time zones. Furthermore, arguably one of my largest reason why I choose to interview my mom was because I never had taken the time or initiative to ask about my mom’s past. I had only knew of some general aspects, but never asked too much into detail. The oral history project was a perfect opportunity to dwell deeper into my family’s history and how they came to America.

My grandmother’s parents immigrated to Johnstown, Pennsylvania from a small town in Poland close to Warsaw. As a young child she spoke two languages Polish at home and English when she went to school or with friends. Life started out very difficult and never really got any easier.. Her life continued to get worse when she lost her husband in a mining accident and her eldest son to a car accident. My grandma used to tell me the stories of their deaths, and how it taught her how strong she really is. She turned the hardships in her life into something beautiful, something joyous, and something sentimental. These moments shaped her into who she is, but they do not define her. These moments that she shares allow me to move on and find something joyful about every situation even if they are not be ideal. When my grandfather passed away my grandmother gave me the strength to look on the brighter side of the situation instead of the sad side.

She then traveled to Europe to recuperate, under the advice of friends and family (Thinkquest, 7). After returning to Boston, months later, she found herself with a very large inheritance that would allow her to love comfortably for the rest of her life (Reader’s Companion to American History, 1).

However this did not stop her efforts to pursue her dream. Even though she risked exile

forth into her country, she still had time for a family. On December 24, 1917,

love of the country and a respectable degree of fluency in the language. She used her time in the

up the phone and rang my Tom’s father to thank him, and for me and Tom

in her marriage. She was worn down by her marriage and wanted a way out of the suffocating

We managed to look after her, while treating her like a sister, in a short explanation, as much as she attempted to gain access to our homes, we both discretely presided to both politely declined her entry and stayed adamant in our decision.