The Immigrant Experience

Hello Friends. Happy New Year! It’s the beginning of 2019 and I jumped right back into the fray by taking another Children’s Book Academy picture book course. It’s only week one but I’ve already been inspired to look introspectively and I’ve realized something powerful about myself.  
 
Dr. Mira Reisberg, a lead teacher in the course, and my book’s editor/art director, often speaks about the immigrant experience. She encourages her students who have a unique background to embrace their culture and share their voices. Our homework assignment yesterday was to think about what type of genre or plot we are drawn to ourselves, and how it impacts our writing. Well, it got me thinking about my own childhood…
 
I’m a first generation Italian American. My parents were both born in Sicily. My father grew up in Argentina, went back to Italy as a teenager, and then finally settled in the U.S. While they were desperate to hang on to the Italian culture they held so dear in their hearts, I never felt the same. You see, I was told I was different than the other kids. I wasn’t allowed to do things “because I was Italian.” I wasn’t allowed to act a certain way “because I was Italian.” We didn’t do THAT “because WE were Italian.” This message, more times than I wished, made me feel like an outsider looking in. I’m sure I’m not the only first-generation American to feel this way. I imagine it must be a relatable sentiment for many. It’s probably why my two best friends growing up were a Haitian-American sensation and a Persian-born hurricane of a girl, one of the only Muslims in my school. We understood each other.
 
I realize now how my childhood impacts my writing today. I tend to write stories with main characters who feels like they are different and don’t fit in. Ultimately, they learn the important lesson that being different is what makes us special…it’s what sets us apart. This is the message I want to tell and it is what continues to creep its way on to my pages. I can’t wait to share my next story with all of you soon. It carries on this valuable lesson through a girl who SHINES, no matter what stands in her way. I love her! 
 
Lastly, I do want to say, that growing up in an Italian household did have its perks. For example, while all the kids were teasing me for eating Nutella sandwiches for lunch, before anyone in this country knew what Nutella was, I was in on the delicious, delectable secret. So there. Eat your hearts out!