An aspiring artist bound in body but not in spirit (2)

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“I guess it is my personality that makes me popular among friends,” Jin says. “I love being straight and candid, not in traditional style of Shanghai girls who are difficult to get along with.”

Her confidence also comes from her capabilities. She was told upon enrolling in university that her admission was approved because of her talent, not her disability.

Jin is making a name for herself in the art world. This summer, she auctioned some of her paintings, earning more than 70,000 yuan.

She used the money to buy herself a 50,000-yuan pair of walking braces to help her stand up. She donated the rest of the money to unidentified disabled people.

Jin always keeps herself busy. She does volunteer work teaching mentally challenged children how to write and paint, and took part recently in a photography event at a care home for senior citizens.

Dreams lead to dreams. Jin says she wants to help disabled people get the most out of their lives.

“Every heart can feel what love is,” she says. “If you don’t go after what you want, you’ll never achieve it.”

Zhang Yan, 19

“I want to find my little brother, who must be a teenager by now.”

Zhang Yan, 19, a native of Chongqing and soon-to-be sophomore at Fudan University, has a special dream apart from the usual ambitions for a good job.

“I want to find my little brother, who must be a teenager by now,” Zhang says.

When Zhang was a young girl, her infant brother was snatched by a relative and never seen again. She says she doesn’t blame her parents. They were both migrant workers who needed to labor every day to make ends meet and couldn’t be home all the time to watch the children.

Instances of child-snatching are not uncommon. Recently in the northwestern province of Shaanxi, an obstetrician sold a newborn baby. The infant was later found, after having changed hands in three neighboring provinces, and returned to his mother.

The “Chinese Dream” may be particularly compelling for inland areas of China, where poor economic conditions and lax social governance have left many people without much hope for a better life. That’s been particularly true among migrant families.

“Although my parents later gave birth to a younger sister, I feel I must find my little brother to reconnect our blood bond,” Zhang says.

She is making her way to a better life by studying hard. Zhang is now learning German at Fudan.

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