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August 13, 2013

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Born in the 1990s -- Jin Wan, 21

Program Code: 0909346130805006

JIN Wan, 21, dreams of having her own art studio. That may sound like nothing special for a university student majoring in animation design, but for Jin it’s part of a long struggle. She lost the ability to walk when she was five years old and is now confined to a wheelchair.

“My dream is very practical, isn’t it?” Jin asks, while sitting at home in a living room that also serves as a makeshift painting studio.

For Jin and her family, September 2, 1996 is a day etched in memory. Jin awoke that morning and was unable to sit up or control her legs. She was taken to hospital where doctors diagnosed transverse mytlitis and radiculitis, neurological disorders that would leave her paralyzed for life.

“It felt like a bolt from the blue,” Jin recalls.

Good-bye to her childhood dream of becoming a dancer.

Her childhood became an endless stream of medical treatment. She had to take medicines that caused hair loss and undergo arduous rehabilitation sessions.

Her mother quit a sales job to take care of the daughter. The family had to rely on her father’s income of about 1,500 (US$242) a month from a security guard job.

Life was hard, but Jin proved to be a tough little girl. She dried her tears and took on life with a determination to conquer adversity.

Many years later, when she participated in a TV program, the director asked her to be a bit more sentimental on air to create an atmosphere of sadness. Jin replied with a smile that she would never cry again.

With the dream of becoming a dancer gone, she found a new passion in art.

At the age of eight, she started to draw, testing her talents across a broad range, from Chinese calligraphy to Chinese paintings, from oils to watercolors, from painting to sketching.

She was a natural talent and a quick learner. In 2011, Jin had her first art exhibition as a painter and calligrapher. It was a great success.

“I paint with my heart to show my feelings toward the nature I respect, toward the people I love and toward the life I treasure,” Jin says.

She is now confidently pursing her dream through study at East China Normal University.

Jin pushes herself to excel. As a primary school student, she set her sights on top grades in homework. If she failed, she always re-did the homework until she got it right. When she decided to pursue painting and calligraphy, she practiced artwork for endless hours.

Her confidence comes from the support of friends who encourage rather than pity her.

“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.”




 

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