speaking of getting lost in someone else's story.. re-reading melania -sandra mickanen sharing
it was a fast read, my first go round; re-reading with pen and paper, as i like to do..
slow down, process.. and i'll return to this post with my notes. but to start..
-as a reader, everything is 'relative' to my own experience; that is.. i was born and raised in the bay area of california, USA.. and i've never been to europe.
-to read about melania arriving in 'America' -age 26 years old, left her family, with just 2 suitcases, a portfolio, and a dream.. landing in New York.. her journey to citizenship..
and i re-read now, with the advantage of having already learned about her education in architecture/design, and of course, the modeling/fashion
**** tbc
pg 4: Life's circumstances share you in many ways, often entirely beyond your control -- your birth, parental influences, and the world in which you grow up. As an adult, there comes a moment when you become solely responsible for the life you lead. You must take charge, embrace that responsibility, and become the architect of your own future.
melania's two pivotal moments in chapter 1:
1996, age 26, arriving in NY 'America'
2006, ten years later, becoming an American Citizen.
i smile to read about Melania's reactions to New York.. it does remind me of my 1st visit to NY, with my sister, February, for my 21st birthday, got to bring my best friend; my sister [Melania also very close w/her sister] -all thank you to our Dad, who let us piggy-back ride on one of his business trips..
i have all the memories somewhere in the archives here; but.. promise you this: arriving in NY for the 1st time; when you were born/raised in the Bay Area of Northern California -it still felt for us like a very far away, foreign country... -world travelers..
i think about it often: when i am talking to people who do lots of traveling; people who 'became' US citizens -always in contrast to my own experience; born and raised in the USA..
***
CHAPTER TWO: THE WIN
Melania marks her ballot for Donald Trump
pg 6: Handing over those pieces of paper, we completed a significant step in the American democratic process that I had grown up admiring from afar, a process I was now squarely in the middle of, a process that would soon thrill me, and sometimes, in the coming years, confuse me -- like it did millions of other Americans.
Re: THE WIN -my own memories.. 2016: waking up, and seeing JuJu in tears. I was renting a room from the Koopman Family.. grateful beyond words they took me in.. sharing the room with many boxes from my (former) public storage locker I could no longer afford. -working at the time, at Alden Lane Nursery Gardens.. quite possibly, still also working at Ricks Picks..
but yes, I remember JuJu crying.. and wondering what had happened? was she hurt? did she receive terrible heart-breaking news...
she did hear terrible heart-breaking news: Hillary Clinton lost the election.
-everyone, self included -utterly surprised. -taken aback..
in the late evening, when we had headed to our rooms.. Hillary, i believe was in the lead.. we had a sense of (false) security.
by the morning.. TRUMP had won. it didn't match.
-fair question for anyone: what impact? what direct impact? do the election results have on our everyday lives? i continued to rent a room for several months, working 2 part time, and then 1 full time job, pay-check to pay-check, raising my children, balancing my rent-a-room life, with co-parenting.. moving eventually to a room in san leandro with my mom and her husband, rick.. and grateful beyond words they took me in.. rent free, but, having my commute go from 5-10 minutes, to 45 minutes to an hour and a half...
*****
remember this book exclusively covers Melania's first time as First Lady, and i was already looking forward, hoping she'd publish a book about her /her husbands 47th Presidency too..
turns out, there is a movie instead [ or in addition to?]: Melania
comes out in theaters Jan 30th, 2026. Yes, of course I want to go...
******
posted by SANDRA MICKANEN @ 11:20 AM
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