The older we get and the more we get to understand our parents' struggles as Vietnam refugees, the more grateful we are. We were a family living off of Section 8 and welfare (thank you Mr. John McDermott for helping our family with the resources) crunched up tiny house with other relatives. Dad being a fisherman, and mom at home caring for the 7 kids. They found every opportunity to make a living. Having us children on the journey to knock on doors to see if anyone wants to buy the fish dad caught, or drive by full and ripe fruit trees to ask the home owners if we could pick the fruits so we would later sell them at the farmers market, or swap meet.

 

As kids, we weren't always happy to do those jobs, especially comparing ourselves to our friends and other kids in the neighborhood. For us, it was sometimes embarrassing to be poor, driving around in beat up old cars and have to find all these hustles to make a living. After all those long days, two important thing that we can remember was that, we always made it to church on Sundays, and we always ate at the family table together. Each person had a role, setting up the floor with newspaper (the floor was our table and the newspaper was our table cloth lol).  One bringing chopsticks and bowls, others bringing rice and plates of delicious home made cooking that mom and the elder siblings help make and taking turns doing dishes and cleaning up. When we look back, there's nothing else better than those memories that we cherish and help us become who we are today. Our parents entrepreneurship journey from Vietnam and the states inspired us to carry on their impact, to do the best we can to be a good person and to continue to share the love in all that we do. We hope you can feel it when you enter Jollidaze.