Family Photos Around The World: Past And Present

3. Santa Ana, California

• via BRYAN VU

  “This is a photo of me (on the right) and my cousin Emil, taken in Northern California around 1992. I grew up in Northern California with my mom’s side of the family, while Dad’s side was mostly in Southern California. Both families were large, and despite 400 miles between us, all of us were pretty tight-knit. For most of our childhood we’d see each other an average of only once a year and we’d switch off which family would make the trip to visit the other.â€

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• via BRYAN VU

  “Emil’s about three years older than me, and back then that seemed like a much bigger age gap. Three years was lot more knowledge and life experience than I really could have known so I looked up to him without even realizing it. It was always super fun to visit family, and the saddest experience a seven-year-old could have when it was time to leave. There were odd times towards the end of each visit I remember him being a jerk to me and I didn’t really understand why. Many years later his mom told me it was actually his form of self-defense: he’d act like he hated me so leaving wouldn’t feel so bad. We currently live about five miles from each other in Southern California now so leaving each other doesn’t have to feel so hard.â€