My Omi’s story has been the bedrock of my outlook on the world. It has shaped my definition of love and strength and hope. My Omi is an 85 year old woman from Germany that lives deep in the south side of Chicago. To this day she lives in the house where she raised her three kids with my Papa, the baby of which is my mommy. I think I got my courage from her. Whenever I think about how scary it is to be graduating college and moving across the country to start a new chapter of my life, I’m humbled by my Omi’s story. Before there were cell phones or locator apps or google translate or GPS or any of the other cushy comforts of the 21st century, she met my Papa while he was stationed in Germany. They overcame language barriers and fell in love. She moved to the United States to marry him and start a new life.

I’ve always thought that story was incredible, but as a young woman in her twenties I have so many questions now that I didn’t know to ask as a little girl. I have all of this change in front of me and I’m finding myself leaving behind the familiar. It feels like the perfect time to sit down and talk to my Omi about the woman she is, what she has learned over the years, and how I can use her wisdom to take on this next chapter. When I told her I wanted to interview her she immediately went, “no no no…I’m not that interesting. I don’t know how much I can give to you.” I thought her comments were silly because I see her as extraordinary. Her resilience has served as the guidelines for the woman I am today. I assured her that her story was everything I was looking for and that any insight she could provide would be a helpful contribution to my project.

The next woman that this project highlights is my mom, the light of my life and my best friend. My mom is the youngest of three children, an administrative law judge, a wife, and a mother. It was important for me to interview her because she is incredibly wise. She's patient, thoughtful, planful, and way more detail oriented than me. I have told her many times that if I grow up to be half the woman that she is, I've won. Everyone says that her and I are twins and conducting this interview showed me just how much she has instilled her values in me. I am also grateful to have enlisted her help as a consultant for this project. She helped me determine what questions to ask, the best way to help my Omi prepare, and even served as my interviewer for the last segment of the project. 

My mom and I are no strange to hour long conversations. I call her the voice in my head because ever since I left Chicago to attend college in Michigan, she is in my headphones talking to me throughout the day constantly. The family that we're born into is not something that we choose and I find myself singing my mom's praises constantly. I call her about every minor inconvenience and any situation I am unsure how to navigate. I am confident that she'll pick up on the first ring. Parents like that are an incredible blessing and as I step into my career, I look forward to being able to give my mom the world as a thank you for making me the center of hers. 

Finally, you'll hear an interview from yours truly. As I created the plan for this project, framing it as a time capsule for reflection, I decided it was important that my voice was represented as well. I am apart of the youngest generation of my family and on the cusp of drastic change in my life. I’m a graduating senior at the university of Michigan studying business administration with a minor in writing. 

As I write this passage I’m sitting on a downtown 3 train in New York City on my way to see a good friend of mine (also a Michigan grad) perform a script reading in lower manhattan. I came here this weekend to look for apartments and today I submitted the application to the corner unit in Harlem that I hope to call my home in just a few short weeks. My life is changing at a rapid pace and I’m transitioning from being a child to a young lady. My story from this point is entirely up to me. So, taking this time to ask important questions of the women in my life that mean the most to me has been the biggest blessing. This project has given me invaluable insights and allowed me to spend quality time with them. 

I hope that you'll enjoy exploring this project just as much as I have enjoyed creating it. Feel free to dive into the topics that interest you most and read my takeaways at the end of each section. Thank you to my Mom and my Omi for allowing me to use their story to create something special. I love you both dearly.