In 1620, the pilgrims made their voyage to the Americas. In 1957 however, my grandfather came to the Americas and had a similar story to many of the pilgrims who came to America, seeking freedom. I didn't say religious freedom, because that would not be true, but there are many aspects of his story that are the same as the Pilgrims.
In 1931, my grandfather was born in Germany. This means that by the time he was 11, World War 2 had begun. He had to live through many hardships. He ate the same food for weeks on end, and was not able to live a fun, happy childhood like we did at his age. In many occasions, he was forced into a bomb shelter to stay safe from attacks. As he aged, he started to work in a paper mill. He grew more and more knowledge of the Americas, and opportunities there, him and his family decided that that was the path to take. He knew that there was a lack of technology in America at the time, so he decided that with all of his college career focused on the paper mills and how they work, it was the opportunity of a lifetime. One of his father's friends worked in New York, so he knew that he would be able to start life somewhere. In 1957, he took his trip to America, aboard the USS United States, pictured above. The only items that he brought over were in a large chest and two suitcases. At first, life was challenging. He had little money and he knew English fairly well, but was unaccustomed to a New York accent. In a short book that my Grandfather wrote bout the first years of his life, he says that one of the hardest changes he had to make was switching languages. Although he was familiar with English, he was not used to others not being able to speak German. He was used to translate things from German to English in his head, but now he knew he would have to think, talk, and listen in English. His first job started directly after he had got there, at a mill in Albany. Two of his first friends in America were Finnish and Dutch, so he could relate to their newness in thee country. After he settled in, life got better for him. He bought his first car, he had friends, and he met my would be grandmother.
Like I said above, I am not directly comparing the voyage of the mayflower to the voyage of my grandfather, but there are multiple similarities. My Grandfather lived a life in Germany that he could have lived in, but he saw a better opportunity for better quality life in America. The pilgrims also could have kept living in England, but to do what they thrived to do, they could not. They wanted to worship their own choice of religion, but they were not allowed to. They were both only allowed to take the bare necessities, and they both had rough journeys coming to America, whether it was not having a lot of room, or leaving their family, respectively. When they got here, the pilgrims faced the cold, disease, and low supplies of food. On a much less intense scale, my grandfather had to convert from speaking German to English and focus on living life by American standards. Lastly, they both made friends, whether it was the Native Americans or fellow Europeans, who made their lives easier and more enjoyable. Things like the severity and conditions of life and the trip were different, and their reasons to come were different, but the overall outlines of their trips were the same.
Two journeys, 337 years apart, yet strikingly similar. One of the stories has personal meaning to me, but the other does not. Both stories are very interesting, whether it is the pre-trip, the trip, the arrival and life in the new place, and all of the details in between. I think that it is truly amazing how both of these stories come to an end, and that is one of the many, many reasons that I decided to write about this topic.
