Shaanxi, China --> Jackson Hole, Wyoming
My name is Madison. I go to college in Idaho and am a senior majoring in elementary education and minoring in environmental humanities, professional foundations and grade school science. I know absolutely nothing about my birth story, including location. I was adopted from Shaanxi, China when I was 10-months-old. I was one of three babies in my group to be in foster care, instead of in an orphanage. There, I also happened to be the fattest baby too. I have an amazing, strong mother (who is my best friend) that couldn’t adopt me until she was 35-years-old because she was not married. On the day she turned 35 she put in her papers. My Chinese name was Su-Jiao, and it means pure precious; now it is my middle name.
"I can count the number of Asian people in my school on one hand, leaving fingers to spare."
I grew up in Jackson Hole WY, there was not much diversity there. I can count the number of Asian people in my school on one hand, leaving fingers to spare. It was hard to be different and at times I wasn’t proud of my adoption story. My college has the best international student representation. I joined the ski team, and, once I graduate, I am going straight to grad school to get a masters in elementary education.
I have a perfect little pug named Peanut. He came with me to college and will be there for many more milestones. He is a therapy dog, so he can share the unlimited amount of love he has.
In our house, gotcha days are treated like any other holiday-marked in our calendar, where we need to take work off and celebrate. Growing up, my mom connected with other moms who adopted children. We would take mandarin classes and perform in schools during Lunar New Year. We made mooncakes, had a dragon and performed songs and dances. As we grew older, it became too much for us, but we all stayed good friends to this day. I may not wear my adoption story on my sleeve, but I am so lucky and blessed. Without it, I could not be where I am now and doing the things that make me happy.
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[Description: White background with pink and blue floral decorations in the corners. In the center is a photo of Madison standing outside and holding her dog. The photo is inside a photo-shaped frame. Large text at the top says "Madison Ewing." Smaller text at the bottom says "Shaanxi, China to Jackson Hole, Wyoming."]