I grew up in Detroit, MI and my parents and grandparents were Italian. My first five years were spent living with my grandparents, my aunt, uncle, and parents, so my first language was Italian. Our large extended family visited every Sunday, so that was party time. It was a loud social gathering of very opinionated individuals with a lot of drama. Holidays were filled with laughter, food, fun, music, dancing, and games. Life was fun, loud, and passionate.We visited my dad’s family in Italy every 5-7 years and spent the entire summer there. When I returned, I spoke, dreamt and thought in Italian. I was even regarded as a slow learner in my younger grades. I think I was a bit confused and disoriented much of the time.

As I bonded with my parents and relatives, I was passionate about being close to them and developed an intuitive nature. When I was in the U.S., I could transport myself (in my mind) to Italy and be with my grandmother, who I treasured. I had cousins, aunts, uncles and friends in Italy, along with a totally different cultural experience. Here, I was an only child with a loving extended family.