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Hello! My name is Mikayla Serpico, and I am participating in this year's MCWT Web Design Competition as part of the Bangor Career Academy. This is my first time writing and coding a website, and I have no previous experience coding. In this site, I will be comparing the similarities and differences between my grandparents' lives when they were my age and my life now.

To explain how our lives are different, it seems appropriate to tell you a little about us.

My grandfather was born in Napoli (Naples), Italy and when he was six years old, he and his siblings arrived by boat in Staten Island, New York. They then moved to Chicago, Illinois. My grandmother was born and raised in the North side of Chicago, IL. After they married in 1964, they had two children; Joseph (1965) and Leisa (1970).

My Grandfather

My grandfather's name is Rubino, but he won't answer to that name; he prefers Robert. He was born in San Martino, Naples (Italy) in the year 1938. He is the youngest child of five. His father was part of the army in World War II, then remarried in California. His mother died when he was five, so his oldest sister and second oldest brother became his 'parents' and took turns taking him in. He and his 4 older siblings immigrated to the United States, arriving by boat in Staten Island then settling in Chicago, IL. He worked as a painter until 2006. He enjoys history, talking about when he was younger, life in Italy, gardening, taking care of his and Grandma's dog Buddy, and he especially loves cooking and using the grill!

My Grandmother

My grandmother's name is Helen Eileen. She was born in Chicago, Illinois, in the year 1941. She is the oldest girl in her family, and the second child of four. Her father sorted mail at the post office, and her mother stayed home and took care of her children. She grew up in Chicago, and it wasn't until she married and had children that she moved to a suburb. She studied hairdressing in school, and worked in a doctor's office and as a secretary in the registrar's office at a local high school until she retired in 2007. Now that she is retired, she enjoys talking to her children and grandchildren, shopping, baking pizzelles and kolaczkis for Christmas, and chatting with friends and family. She has an immense knowledge of health and medicine, she loves telling stories of when she was younger, petting their dog Buddy, and talking about when my father was a little one!

Me

My name is Mikayla, and my nickname is "Kayla", probably because most people I meet automatically shorten my name to that. I live on a farm with 60 animals (61 if you count the fish). We have muscovy ducks, Indian runner ducks, dogs, roosters, chickens, cows, goats, a cat, and that fish I mentioned. After college, I'm interested in being a biology teacher, a musician, or a writer. I also fully intend to have an Australian Shepherd and goats. I enjoy writing fiction, short stories, essays, and screenplays. I also love reading, sketching, playing piano, drawing, squeaking out trombone notes, blogging, playing with my dog Paisley, who is conveniently an Australian Shepherd, playing dress-up, and acting out movies with my two sisters.