Welcome To Mendocino: A Short Story

Sometimes in my dreams I think I’m in a somber place, in a dark train station. It is freezing. The noise is deafening: the screech of the metal brakes, the unintelligible blaring of a loudspeaker and voices chattering in an inscrutable language. It smells like oil, garlic, and sweat. My stomach is snarling, my toes are frozen and I’m wrapped up so tightly I’m unable to move. I can do nothing. I am only three days old. Every year thousands of Chinese children are abandoned as a result of China’s one-child policy, which minimizes the number of children per household to diminish the population. I was abandoned in a Chinese train station, a newborn with my umbilical cord still attached. I was taken to an orphanage in Chengdu, Sichuan where I lived for six months. Fortuitously, I was then placed into the benevolent arms of a white woman who spoke to me in a foreign language. I was taken to an unfamiliar land I later learned was called the land of the free. The drive home smelled of clean air and salt. To the right of me were towering leafy giants, and to the left was an endless pool of undulating water. A sign read, “Welcome to Mendocino.” …show more content…
Living in such a small town prompted me to join sports as a mean to pass the time, and since sixth grade, sports have been a major part of my life. Through sports I have created the closest friendships, established my sense of leadership as captain and augmented my drive for competition. Although my stature stands a diminutive 4’11” my height has not hindered my capability and performance in sports, as I have been a starting varsity volleyball and basketball player from freshman to senior