The fruit of our labor

One value that my parents taught us from their lives in China was how to garden and grow different types of plants and vegetables. When my family first immigrated to America, we filled our tiny apartment with all sorts of greenery and vegetables. Using the ends of green onions, we would repot them into soil in order to regrow them.

When we later moved into a house, my grandparents came to the U.S. My grandfather and my dad built a massive garden themselves, by hand. I helped them by translating for them at each Home Depot run for supplies, as they built wooden crates and laid the pavement for the garden walkway. The garden was done just in time for the planting season. During this time, I learned about how to identify different types of seeds, weeds, fertilizers and garden tools. I also helped my dad build small trellises for vertical growing vegetables like beans and cucumbers.

As they gardened, I noticed the sweat dripping from their foreheads and complaints of aching backs. At first, I was extremely impatient, checking every single day for any progress with the seeds I had planted. I wanted to give up, however, watching my parents water the plants every day after work kept me intrigued enough to remain motivated.

When the plants finally bloomed, we enjoyed a never-ending supply of fresh produce: tomatoes, lettuce, kale, carrots, radishes, lemons, apples, figs and green onions.

With the fresh tomatoes we grew, my sister and I knocked door-to-door to share them with our neighbors — hoping to help our family build new relationships with our community despite my parents’ language barrier.

Growing up in a household that emphasized eating home-grown organic produce, I learned the importance of perseverance in order to enjoy the fruit of our labor, literally and figuratively. Most importantly, through my parents’ work, I learned to never forget my roots. As my family continues to branch out and sprout new relationships in the U.S., we carry with us the values that started our journeys. As the planting season approaches, try gardening or growing your own food. It can be as simple as growing herbs in a pot by your kitchen windowsill or starting a new gardening project in your backyard.

Eileen Liu is a junior at Menlo-Atherton High School in Atherton. Student News appears in the weekend edition. You can email Student News at news@smdailyjournal.com.