Twice a day the world (aka my small Instagram following) gets a glimpse of what life was like for a new American family in the late 1980s and 1990s.

I sift through thousands of 35mm photos of my Armenian-American family every day and pick out the ones that represent who were best to post to my First Generation American Instagram profile. The images show an immigrant family assimilating into their new American culture, while maintaining aspects of their own cultural identity. Going through the process of selecting photos for the page has made me realize how there must be millions of stories similar to my family’s.

Boat Ride | 1993

With the election of Donald Trump in November, and his most recent action to ban large populations of people based on where they’re from, it made me realize that the opportunity for millions to come to the United States and pursue a better life may be impossible.

For now.

My family hasn’t had it easy. They had to work extremely hard to enter into the American middle class and I see how that work ethic paid off for myself and those in the second generation of my family. However, with the stroke of a pen that opportunity seemingly vanished for millions of people. Aside from the prospect of new American families not being able to enter the country, the thought of families being permanently separated by fear-mongering politics is also deeply saddening.

What I want to share through my photos is the beauty of a new family coming to this country, starting a new life, having children and maintaining traditions like cuisine, holiday rituals and religion. It shows a family becoming what we view as American.

A majority of my family came to the United States by way of Jordan and Syria. During and after the Armenian Genocide in 1915, Armenians were refugees in many countries including the United States, Russia, Australia, Argentina, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Iran to name a few.

Refugee resettlement is always going to cause strife, no matter which country it is and no matter if it’s 1915 or 2017. For my whole life, I’ve experienced what so many other New American families have — the coalescing of new culture, new food, new language and new people.

It’s beautiful.

My intention when I created First Generation American wasn’t anything political or even anything beyond having an excuse to show off some neat, old photos of my family I’d never seen before.

But now, my hope is that people can view photos of all types of American families and realize we’re not too different.

We dance.

We gamble.

We play.

We love.

Family pictures can tell a completely different story, often ones not heard or seen in the mainstream media or in political think pieces.

Please, share some photos of your family. It doesn’t matter how boring or mundane they seem to you, they tell a unique story. When people see they are not so different from their neighbors, we can begin the conversation, this time with a better understanding of what it means to be American.

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Visit www.firstgenerationamerican.me and send me your family’s stories and pictures. Let’s get the discussion started.

Tag #firstgenerationamerican and tell your families’ story.

Follow @firstgenerationamerican on Instagram to see all the latest posts