Creating New Beginnings Bing Rui, an immigration lawyer and Chinese immigrant
Piles of organized, color-coordinated documents and folders lay across the large desk of the office. A phone in one hand and typing with the other, Bing Rui diligently converses with her client who is currently on the other side of the world, eagerly waiting for the opportunity that awaits them in a new country. As an immigrant born in Shanghai, China, Bing, my mother, has had many experiences that shaped her worldview and career path. She overcame many hurdles in her home country and while adjusting to a new one in order to obtain a law degree in the US and establish her own corporation as an immigration lawyer, the US-China Law Group. During her childhood, her life in Shanghai was made difficult by the Communist Party who were in power at the time. Although Mao Zedong died when she was young, the effects of his rule still remained throughout China. Life under Mao could be characterized as a period of “fear, hunger, extreme poverty and relentless political persecutions” (Wang)
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Bing’s community was a direct reflection of the extreme poverty aforementioned. It was a very densely populated area and her large family comprised of her grandparents, parents, and older sister were forced to share one room in a five story apartment, with communal bathrooms as well. Bing notes how a good night’s sleep often escaped her due to the perpetual noises from living in such close proximity with others. However, she never let her harsh living conditions or impoverished lifestyle upset her. Instead, she utilized this hardship to form a resilient and upbeat demeanor and a positive outlook on life, which greatly aided her in future difficulties. Even though privacy was almost non-existent, something that would be extremely bothersome for most, she discovered an upside to it: it created a stronger, more tight-knit community. Bing recalls how all the doors in the apartment buildings would be left open during the summer and “neighbors would just come in and walk through your door...to check out what kind of food you’re having for dinner”. She smiles and adds, “sometimes when it got really hot we would just bring our dinner table outside and...all the neighbors would be eating outside ...so it was like a big potluck party”. Despite her freestyleacademy.rocks | Freestyle Academy Spring 2021 Vol # | 3