2023/2024
Collection 19

Achieving the Dream of a Lifetime

1950s–1962; Skopelos, Greece; New York, New York, and Memphis, Tennessee, USA

During the 1950s there was a young girl growing up in a small village on the Greek island of Skopelos (SKOH puh lohs). Her name is Chrysanthy (krih SAHN thee), and she is my yiayia (YI-yuh), which is Greek for “grandma.” Every morning except Sundays Chrysanthy would walk to school with her best friend, Mahoula. Chrysanthy loved school so much that she wanted to be a teacher one day.

Chrysanthy’s home had only a fireplace and a wood-burning furnace for heat, and the only news her family would get came from an occasional newspaper or town crier. To get around, they would use either a donkey or their feet. Over time, electricity and radios came, but Chrysanthy was never spoiled. Occasionally her family would get a box of things from her aunt in America. After seeing all of the new, interesting things in the box, she wanted to see the place that they were from. She wanted to see the world.

In 1962 Chrysanthy’s dream came true. Her cousin Mike traveled from America to Skopelos and visited her. Every night he would ask her to speak with him, because all of the grown-ups talked too fast for him to understand their Greek. Chrysanthy and Mike discussed what they were going to do the next day. During the day Chrysanthy would carry his camera bag to wherever they were going.

Over time, Mike saw how much Chrysanthy wanted a great education and wanted to go to college, so he asked her if she wanted to go to America. You see, there were only two colleges in Greece at the time, and girls rarely went to college, making it extremely difficult for Chrysanthy to go, not to mention expensive. But in America, colleges were cheaper and plentiful, so Mike went home to his parents and asked them if they would host Chrysanthy while she went to school. Luckily for her, they said yes.

After getting everything ready to go, Chrysanthy boarded a plane in Athens and headed to New York City. She was just fourteen years old, was all by herself, and traveled with only an extra pair of clothes and a whole lot of gifts for her cousins. Sure, she had some nerves, but really she was excited. She was on a real plane!

Once she landed in New York, she was met by a stranger who asked her in Greek, “Are you Chrysanthy?” He was an airport employee who took her to New Jersey, where she would get on another plane to Memphis, Tennessee, to meet up with her aunt and uncle. It was that employee who gave Chrysanthy the first hot dog of her life. After five more hours of travel, she was with relatives once again. She had made it to the land of opportunity.

My yiayia easily learned English, went on to finish high school, went to college, got married, had two kids, and fulfilled her dream to be a teacher.

“If you can dream it, you can achieve it.” —Chrysanthy

Malachi Crooks; Missouri, USA

This copyrighted story may be copied and/or printed for limited classroom or personal use. To reprint this story in an article about The Grannie Annie, please contact The Grannie Annie Family Story Celebration for permission.

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