So this is me, and you're probably wondering how I ended up like this. Well it all started in 1845 when potato blight began to ravage across Ireland. My family's farm was destroyed and we became hungry and poor. We are still suffering from the aftermath now in 1875, over 20 years after it ended.

We knew something had to change so my parents gave me the last of our money so I can travel to America. I hope to play the fiddle, my only real possession from home other than clothes, and make some money but I'm scared for my future.

As the sun begins to rise we see the Statue of Liberty on the horizon. It fills me with hope for my future. Maybe I can make it in America.

I depart off my boat and walk through the city streets. There is dirt and litter all over the ground, smog fills the air, burning my nose and making my throat scratch. This is the land of opportunity, I think as a rat crawls over my shoes and scurries down the gutter.

Suddenly it hits me, am I going to have to sleep out here. I didn't have anyone to come to in the United States. I had been sent off here all on my own. I scan the corners to see if there's anywhere halfway decent but I can't find one that doesn't stink of urine.

Suddenly a man approaches me and asks if I'm Irish. He mentions a boarding house where I can sleep for cheap and is willing to give me the first day for free. Normally I'd be skeptical but I'm desperate.

I walk into the boarding room and consider going back to the streets. The room is crowded with people covering every inch. It smells of sweat and body odors and trash, clothes and belongings fill any possibility of free space left. I chose to stay because of the cold.

My first day out I try to play my fiddle to make money but my luck is less than super. I make next to nothing. I end up talking to the others in the boarding house to find out about jobs and hear of a spot in a factory available.

I begin work in the factory and it is grueling. I work ten hour shifts every day from 8am to 6pm and the task given is mind numbing. I put parts onto parts combining the same pieces over and over again hour by hour. My mind begins to go blank as it is my only escape. This goes on for the next year. 

One day in the factory, as my mind is wandering off to a far place, my hands wander to the wrong one. They go under a part of the machine and are crushed, bones snapping. My friends from the factory are able to take me to the hospital but I don't know how I'll pay. My lower arm is amputated.

I've been working in the factory for twenty one years now. I was moved to a new job that can let me work even with my missing arm. This new job is more mind numbing and simple than the last, stretching my hours into days.