After drawing a steep hill with a fruiting persimmon tree, Elder K10 explained, “This is the rough life I’ve lived up to this point, though it hasn’t been such a rough life. It’s windy and I’m being shaken, but still, I had children, created a family.” Pointing to the fruit on the tree, he added, “These are the things I achieved. I’ve provided for my children, set up a business, and made a living here in America.”
Elder K10 described the wind as “the hardships that suddenly come into the future or is here in the present. Maybe it’s because I’m a first-generation immigrant, but I always feel a bit anxious. The unknown future is unsettling, you know?”
Reflecting on the persimmon tree, he shared, “I used to get this feeling of ‘Ah!’ in my heart when I saw persimmon trees in the country in the fall.” For Elder K10, autumn represents “loneliness and yet having yielded something,” capturing both the struggles and the accomplishments of his immigrant journey.
