I am Itzel Madrigal, a senior in Storm Lake High School.
There are five of us in my family, and six when my grandma comes to visit. She usually comes to visit during the spring and summer because she doesn't like the winter. When she does come, she stays for two months and then returns to Mexico. It feels homey when she stays because I come home and someone is there. That's not usually how it is. When she visits there is also a lot more talking and a lot of “back in my day" stories. She also takes my siblings to the park and on walks all the time.
When it comes to my relationship with my grandmother, she and I are kind of close. It's harder since she only comes to visit half a year.
One special thing that my family does every other year is go to California. My family and my grandmother go to see my parent's families. My aunts and uncles are all there. There is pachanga, along with a lot of food and music. It’s nice and relaxing.
I have learned a lot from grandmother growing up. Hearing her "back in my day" stories makes me think of how the modern world has changed since she grew up. We have more choices than they did. A very important lesson I have also learned is to not take life or family for granted. If something comes to you you better cherish it, you could lose it. Her stories have made me treasure my family more because she lost both of her parents at a young age. She lost her mother after her youngest sibling was born and her father when she was ten years old. She ended up having to take care of her siblings, even though she was being raised by her stepmother.
I am Steven Alec Thongvanh, a senior at Storm Lake High School.
I have lived with my grandmother my whole life. Growing up and living with her has taught me a lot, especially about respect and how to treat others.
My parents divorced when I was a couple months old and my father gained custody. I was his only child, and didn’t know how to take care of one, so my grandparents raised me.
My father and I are close, but he is more like a brother to me than he is a dad.
I see my grandfather as my father figure. He taught me how to ride a bike amongst a lot of other things.
I’m not really close to my mother, partially because she lives in Des Moines. She hasn’t kept in contact with me much. I think maybe going to college near her would give me the opportunity to see my younger brothers more. A few years ago, I went to see them and during that time I enjoyed raising my little brothers.
I have, and my grandmother shares, many memories from growing up with her. She tells me that when I was a little kid, she used to carry me around in a blanket. It's part of the Asian culture. One memory that I am really fond of is when my grandmother and I went to Minnesota a few years ago. We went to see my aunt and we spent the whole summer there. I got to see my cousins, go to the Mall of America, went biking, and hung out.
One challenge that I have faced growing up is that I have a hearing impairment. I never wore hearing aids until eleventh grade because I didn’t like it. Through elementary school and middle school I chose not to wear them which sometimes made it harder. Because of my hearing impairment I have learned to take on my family's hard work ethic. It has made me want to work harder because I didn’t want to wear hearing aids.