I Wanna Throw the Apple Into the Sky

On critical family history and my brat summer in so-called Salem, Massachusetts

Credit: Charli XCX via TikTok / Adryan Corcione

I acknowledge Salem, Massachusetts is now the colonized land of the Pawtucket and Naumkeag tribes. Additionally, the Pequot tribe also previously occupied the area, although their tribal headquarters is now based in Connecticut.

I guess the apple don’t fall far from the tree
’Cause I’ve been looking at you so long
Now I only see me

In July 2020, my quarantine hobby was genealogy. Thanks to a free trial of Ancestry.com, I dove deep into my own independent research.

My dad recited his family’s oral history during my childhood, particularly about my great-grandfather’s immigration story from Naples, Italy to Ellis Island. Contrarily, I knew very little about my mother’s family, so I figured that was a good place to start with my research.