As I interviewed my grandparents and parents, I learnt and discovered new information about my family that I never knew. I got to know more about the origin of my family. From the interviews, here are some of my research findings. My place of origin is in a small province in China, Hainan (海南). Hainan is the main island of the province. Hainan is located in the South China Sea, separated from Guangdong's Leizhou Peninsula to the north by the shallow and narrow Qiongzhou Strait. For centuries, Hainan was part of Guangdong Province until in 1988 when the island became part of the newly created Hainan Province (海南省). As for my name, Yi Xuan (乙瑄), means wisdom and perseverance. My parents gave me such a name in hope that I would always be wise and vigilant in whatever I do and also persevere despite the many setbacks I may face. My grandfather also shared with me how life was like when he was young. My grandfather, born in 1932, was only 7 years old when World War II broke out. When China was being attacked, my great grandmother and he fled to Hong Kong. Soon after, my great grandfather arrived in Hong Kong to bring them to Singapore. Whenever the sirens went off, it meant that the people were in danger. Instinctively, everyone would run to the underground tunnel they had dug lest they would be killed. Leaving with no other choice, my grandfather and his family fled to a small isolated island in Indoneasia. Although life was peaceful, it was not the most comfortable one. They lived on whatever they planted, such as sweet potatoes. Many times, they barely had any rice to eat and on the rarest occasions were they given the luxury to have meat such as chicken and duck. After what seemed like an eternity, the war was finally over and they headed back to Singapore. As my grandfather recounted, he told me that everything was in a total mess and it was so chaotic. People were fighting for their lives and many were left homeless. The people were extremely hungry which then led them to resort to stealing. There was no law and order. My grandfather and his family settled down in a small rented apartment in Geylang. My great grandfather then sent my grandfather to a Duchess school to learn English. However, as he was overaged similar to many other children during that time, he was barred from taking the final examination. Not succumbed to circumstances, my grandfather was enrolled into Pei Chun Public School which is a Chinese School currently located at Toa Payoh. Through these interviews, I got to better understand the people around me. I learnt that what we have now is considered a blessing and we should be grateful for them. If our pioneers never gone through all those hardship, we would never be able to lead such a comfortable and smooth life.