New Life Motto

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*Markus Serrano*

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*Markus Serrano*

Surprisingly, we found a way to stop talking about our boy trouble and talked about life for a few hours.

"Yeah, we went on vacation to the Philippines and I saw the homeland where my ancestors were from. I was born in America, but that's where my mom and dad met. They showed me the bakery that my dad's side of the family ran. My mom was about nineteen I think, grandma was sick, and mom needed money. She just so happened to apply for a job at the same bakery my dad worked at and the rest is history." Piper cutely kicked her feet up.

"They showed me the rice farms that my mom's family still grows today. It was so amazing to be at that place and to meet people who are related to me that I didn't even know about. I learned so much of what my parents went through just to get me here. And getting to see all of it with Neo beside me." She paused like she wanted to continue but couldn't.

I smiled. "That's a beautiful story. Neo was there?"

She bit her lip at my comment

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She bit her lip at my comment. "Yeah, he came with us. Seeing what they told me the Philippines was like compared to what it is now, was life-altering. I've never felt closer to my heritage in my life. We went to the beaches there and explored the villages. It was gorgeous and made me even prouder of my culture."

Celia laughed, "I'm just white. I think I have Scottish lineage in my family, but I have no accent to show for it, just this red hair." She twiddled her fingers in the loose waves.

I decided to chime in, "I'm Native American by DNA, but we don't really belong to a tribe anymore. My dad taught me a little bit of the Algonquin language. He used to speak it to Denny and me and sing to us. He stopped the older we got, especially after we became less connected to his side of the family."

Cece rolled on my bed. "What happened with your dad's side of the family?"

I shifted awkwardly, "Um, my grandparents passed away and they really didn't have a reason to come back together." Tears prickled in my eyes just thinking about them.

Piper chuckled, "Hey, we were supposed to be talking about my family history," she joked trying to get me out of that state of mind.

We laughed, "We're all sharing, you can't hog it," Celia nudged her.

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