By Anna D’Ulisse, April 7, 2019 — When I was young, I grew up in a family that was very poor, but was very rich with love. We worked on a farm. I was also going to school, but I did not like it. My teachers would hit and I didn’t feel like I could learn there. When I told my mom that I wanted to quit school, she said I would either have to work on the farm full time, or get a job somewhere else. After a few years went by, still working at the farm, I wanted something more. My mother sent me to my godmother, and she taught me how to sew. With my godmother, I learned how to sew many different things. My favorite thing to sew were dresses. I actually made my daughter’s prom dress and her wedding veil. In order to learn how to sew, I needed money to pay my godmother, My mom was willing to pay for me to be taught how to sew for three years. Coming from a poor family with not a lot of money, the fact that my mom would pay for me was very honorable. With the abilities and skills I learned from my godmother, I was able to pursue a life and a career in the United States. I was able to leave our fam which was all I had ever known, and create a better life for myself and my family.
The things I remember about going to sew, would be getting up very early in the morning, and staying until very late at night. I would walk to her house in the snow, in the rain and everything else in between. I would have to walk uphill all the way to the top of the town or the “uptown”, from my house which was at the very bottom of the town. I was not alone during this. My godmother was teaching me and two other girls at the time, and I was always the best out of us three. I picked up on everything quicker than the other two girls. The one girl who did this with me died very young and the other quit because she was never good at it. I would always thank my parents so much for paying for me to be able to do this. I will always be grateful for that. By giving me the opportunity to go there and learn, I was able to go to the United States with a specialty that was worthwhile. I came to the United States and was able to work for 14 years as a seamstress. I was making things like sport jackets, pants, skirts and all types of things like that. Learning how to sew was one of the best thing I’ve ever done for myself, and one of the most important.