Marie's Story

Hello! 

My name is Marie Curtis. I was born fully developed at only 4lb, (which if you don't know is really small). I was put into a foster home not long after my birth. Thankfully my lovely adoptive mom (but I will just call her mom) adopted me from China and brought me here to America. I was adopted at only 11 months old so I don't remember anything about China, or my real parents. My mom and dad brought me home to a nice small city called Arlee where my older sister was waiting. My sister her name is Mae is 3 years older than me, she was also adopted from China, but we are not blood related. 

For a while my life was really nice, but in February 2003, a little over two months befor I would turn 3 my dad committed suicide. I did not really know him very well and my mom had divorced him, so this change was unnoticed to me for a while longer. I don't even remember when I started thinking about dad. My sister however got angry at us all the time after that but she is much better now. Well enought of this sadness. My life kept going I moved two times before I started elementary school. At first I went to a very large and populated school, here I met my still today best friend Kendall (she is a girl) we have been to each others every Birthday ever since. But my mom taught music at a different elementary school so I was transferred to there. There on the bus still some kids would do the "my mom is Chinese, my dad is Japanese, look at what they did to me thing" but for some reason it never bothered me. In first grade I experienced my first time being bullied, it was nothing serious, but to a little kid who was very sensitive it hurt a lot. This one boy called me "weird Chinese girl"and his friend laughed with him. Of course I went to a teacher and everything was handled really quickly, especially since my mom would see them like twice a week throughout their entire elementary lives.

 That summer we took an amazing trip back to China for a couple of weeks only staying in a city for a few days at a time. It was so much fun. We ended up climbing the Great Wall of China. Getting cool sun umbrellas, and fans with the most detailed intricate designs. On our last day in China we stayed in the same hotel my mom and dad stayed in when they went to pick up Mae. The years went by, and I loved to be girly. Going to school I was a very smart girl, and loved to read and math. I was not very good at Art but I still loved drawing. Since my mom is a music teacher she had me take piano lessons from her. I gave that up in third grade and tried playing the Violin. I still play violin now though. 

Life went on and not much changed. Although I went on growing up I was always too shy. The first time I met another Chinese adopted girl my age was in 6th grade. Her name is Abby, on the first day of school Kendall had not seen her face yet so she mistakes her for me; but I don't see too much a similarity between us. Last summer I started learning how to speak Chinese again. It is very difficult, one of the hardest languages to learn. If you want to learn a new language go for it though it will almost defiantly be useful in the future.

I have never liked my middle name, in Chinese it means flower that blooms in the winter or as my mom says, it means I don't run away when the going gets tough. It was also my name before my mom changed my name to be an English name my name was FuXinmei. (Although most or the people who will read this will not know how to pronounce it.)

Although my birth and very early childhood was pretty bad, I don't let it define me. Yeah I know we all have our troubled times, and at least somewhere a bad time, but that is not what defines us. Who we are is not in the past or in the thoughts of others, but it is what ever you decide to become. I wear a mask sometimes, but that does not mean you should wear one too. I am not trying to tell you to be mean or rude or shout out whatever comes to mind and end up hurting someone's feelings. I am telling you to yes be your self but that does not mean you have an excuse for being rude. Put down your mask and be yourself. Don't let anyone or anything stop you from being your true self.