“A lot is lost when you are a first-gen, and I want to preserve as much as possible”

Story #20

Karyn Padilla, Honduran-American First-Generation

Interviewed & Written by Noor Mchallah

Born and raised in Chelsea, Massachusetts, Karyn is a first generation Honduran-American adamant about staying connected to her Honduran identity and roots.

Karyn’s parents migrated from Honduras to the United States in the late 1990s, following behind their cousins who had already arrived in the U.S. Karyn’s mother, Martha, was motivated to come to the US after Karyn’s grandmother’s aggressive cancer diagnosis. Martha left behind three of her children in Honduras in search of financial opportunities to support them and their grandmother. Unfortunately, Karyn’s grandmother passed away soon after Martha arrived in the U.S. Once Karyn was 5-years-old, her two brothers and sister were brought over from Honduras to the U.S.

Karyn is currently a junior studying Latin American Studies at Boston University. Despite her family’s desire for her to pursue business, Karyn didn’t want to prioritize making money over following her dreams.

Early expectations for Karyn to help her family financially led her to get her first job at 14-years-old. If she wanted something, it was up to her to get it.

“Things are very different when you’re growing up in Honduras. When my mom was 20 years old she already had 2 kids and a house to run,” Karyn said. When Karyn was 18-years-old, her mother expected her to become self-sufficient and provide for herself. As a college student, Karyn expressed to her family how difficult it was to maintain so many things at once with academics and work while residing at a university alone.

When asked what advice Karyn would give to someone with a similar background, she said “always do things for yourself.”

Karyn refused to cook throughout her teenage years as an act of rebellion because she was constantly told by the adults around her that learning to cook was imperative for her to be a proper wife someday. This was a common cultural norm that Karyn often fought against.

Eventually, once Karyn was on her own, she developed a love for cooking and began baking many ethnic foods. Ultimately, she wanted to learn to cook because she believed it would be beneficial for herself rather than for anyone else.

On that same note, Karyn wishes that she trusted her gut and transferred at the beginning of her college career. Her time at Wellesley was not what she expected it to be, and she wanted to transfer her first semester; however, her mom advised against it. Karyn looks back on that time now – she transferred during her fourth semester to BU – and wishes she would have transferred earlier to ensure that her happiness and future wellbeing was prioritized above all else.

Karyn holds Honduras very close to her heart and has visited several times since 2012. Oftentimes, she feels too comfortable living in Boston and fears losing her culture and connection to Honduras. “A lot is lost when you are a first-gen, and I want to preserve as much as possible,” she said.

Karyn is even considering a career that involves living and working in Latin America, ensuring that once she has children of her own they are also closely tied to their roots.

Karyn expressed that she and her siblings have often been split between two worlds. For the children of migrants, things are very different at home than in school. They have to navigate their own lives while trying to help their parents navigate life in the U.S., as they bear a great responsibility in helping their parents adjust.

Karyn is grateful for the life she was given and often thinks about how much her parents gave up for her. “It is really hard when you are the child of immigrant parents because sometimes you get to enjoy a better life at the expense of them.”

Karyn has admired her mom’s strength and resilience greatly; her mom has had to work overnight shifts since her arrival to the US in the ‘90s and has faced a difficult life. In an effort to give back to her mom after all that her mom has done for her, Karyn saved enough money for just the two of them to travel to Cancun on vacation.

“It feels so nice to do something like this for my family. I know I am not curing my family’s financial problems, but I genuinely believe that just because we are low income does not mean we aren’t able to have nice things.”

Karyn’s mom has not left the country since she arrived in the ‘90s, and she is currently in the process of becoming a citizen.

“Hopefully the next trip I take to Honduras will finally be with my mother as a US citizen,” she said.