Yours Truly, Eva

14 hours passed and I completed one of the most painful work shifts. I’ve worked there for 2 years, but that wasn’t the painful part. 

6 hours into a double shift, I strained a muscle in my ankle; pain. 

3 a.m. led to a sigh of relief in my cold “basement” room. 

I shed a tear, why. 

2 years later has passed and I shed a tear. 

“Wipe the tear,” says mom and dad. 

Resilience. 

14 hours later, I thought about my mom and dad. They’d say to wipe my tears because I have the strength to lift and to move through life. Reflections about my mom and dad came up. They have taught me a work ethic like no other. Back pains, knee pains, wrist pains, blindness, sharp pains, emotional pain, pain. 

They persisted.

Resilience. 

To give me my world. 

Something as permanent as a tattoo is a physical unveil about a deeper narrative that can only be told through the heart. Take a close look and this is a silhouette of “Lē’ahi” Diamond Head, Hawai’i’s most recognized landmark. A closer look at this simple, yet complex line marks the beginning of my parent’s immigration story to the United States and the ridges symbolically represent the roots of an ethnic and cultural upbringing that has shaped the person that I am today. 

My parent’s immigration story is motivated by the American Dream, the national ethos of a country that stands for their ideals in freedom to achieve a life full of opportunity and prosperities for social mobility through hard work. Through my eyes, I have seen a work ethic like no other through the back pain, sweat, early sunrises and humility, like that of my parents. From an early age, I had to fulfill their idea of the American Dream because their sacrifice of leaving home is compromised by experiences of racism, assimilation, and exploitation of our culture that tarnished their very chance for social mobility.