OPINIONS

Arts Editor

Iwas found in a box next to a guard shack in downtown Maoming, China, early morning Sept. 5, 2005. I was less than one-day old, dressed in thick yellow pajamas clutching a small blanket. Fortunately, a guard discovered me, and brought me to a local orphanage. Unfortunately, it wasn’t uncommon for newborns to be left in such a way. Over a 36-year period (spanning from 1979 to late 2015), millions of Chinese babies, like me, were placed in orphanages. I am a product of a system that broke up families and created new ones. The Chinese government initiated a “one-child policy” in 1979 that limited the amount of children Chinese families had to one. They enacted this order in an attempt to contain China’s rapid population growth rate. Enforcement was strict and draconian; families that did not comply could be fi ned up to a year’s salary, thrown in jail or even beaten.

While keeping more than one child was illegal, it was also against the law to directly put a child up for adoption or place them in an orphanage. Given this context, I don’t interpret my birth mother’s actions as being equivalent to abandoning me on the side of a street; she was doing all she could to provide me with a life.

When people ask me about being adopted, they never go as far as asking: “Do you ever want to meet your birth parents?”

Sometimes they’ll ask me if I remember anything before I was adopted. I frequently sense that they might be waiting to hear me say that I’ve always felt like a part of myself was missing. People seem to be thirsting for a good drama The abundant (I guess there’s assumptions that I’m nothmisplaced, or living a ing good on Netlife that wasn’t meant fl ix these days). to be mine, are simply Frankfalse. ly, I don’t ever wonder who my birth family is; they’ve always been strangers to me. Why would I feel like I’m missing a part of myself when everything I am is because of my family here with me today? My satisfaction with my life today never lets any curiosity grow. Sure, it’s possible that I have a Chinese sister or brother who looks like me, but I have a brother here who’s shaped who I am, and for me, that’s more important. While others may say that the “one child policy” was tragic— and in many respects it was—I can honestly say that I’m grateful. I come from a beginning of sorrow and heartbreak, but I live a life of love and happiness. My family is my everything. They’ve given me a loving home, opportunities, the freedom to explore a myriad of interests and have taught me my individual worth. Adoption is such a special part of my identity, but it doesn’t defi ne my life. I have this story; this unique past. And it does set me apart from others. However, the abundant assumptions that I’m misplaced, or living a life that wasn’t meant to be mine, are simply false. I grew up here. My parents are my parents. My brother is my brother. That’s what’s real and forever.

Statistics from The U.S. Bureau of Consular Aff airs

Graphic by Jake Fitzpatrick ’22, Rachel Greenberg ’22 & Madeline Michalowski ’22

GIVING BACK Addison Moore ’23 started Up Next, a student-led organization, in 2021 to relieve food insecurity while teaching the fundamentals of entrepreneurialism.

Lucy Dockter ’23

News Editor

ver since he was young, EAddison Moore ’23 strove to give back to those around him. Growing up on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, he always put money in the cups of people living on the streets. So, when he moved to Westport, he founded Up Next to help reduce food insecurity in Connecticut. Up Next consists of a group of students who organize fundraising events and donate all proceeds to charities and local food banks. In the past few months alone, they have raised over $7000. The organization is completely student run, with only minimal guidance from adults when absolutely necessary. “We overall aim to try and relieve food insecurity,” Moore said. “What we’re really focusing on right now is more boots on the ground type stuff.” After being a part of multiple teen councils in Westport, Moore discovered a gap between organizations that teach charitable initiatives and organizations that teach entrepreneurialism. Up Next was designed to bridge that gap and be a creative space where teens can put on events, programs and ventures to reduce food insecurity. “I realized that there was [an] intersection between entrepreneurialism and community-based service,” Moore said. “Because that was a gap that wasn’t fi lled, I thought, ‘Hey, you know what? Why not try and fi ll it?’ And why not try to fi ll it in a creative way by creating a teen organization that,

TEEN FAIR Moore showcased Up Next at the Teen Job Fair in 2021. The event was run by MoCA Westport and was an opportunity for teens to connect with local businesses. Photos contributed by Addison Moore ’23

unconventionally, doesn’t have a single adult in charge, and where you just have a board of advisors?” Moore is a part of multiple other teen councils in Westport, but he believes there is something overly formal about such groups, and they do not feel like fun, engaging groups for teens. “I recognize that one of the major things that [other teen boards in town] always do is they try to make it really offi cial. They try to make it feel like it is a bunch of adults who are working together, when, in reality, it’s a bunch of teens who are all collaborating,” Moore said. “All these different boards have an adult who’s monitoring everything, and it’s one person speaking at a time and one person takes note.” Moore took a different approach. He intends to build a tight-knit community through this group where teens can learn to lead and assist people in their community. “I made Up Next to feel more like a group of friends that you were able to participate in,” Moore said. “You can gain a lot of community service hours and a lot of experience, and we do these really cool projects. People tend to be interested. They want to come. They want to see what it’s like.”

This upcoming fall, Up Next is looking to begin some new projects.

“We’re working with the Remarkable Theater, [which] I’ve worked with before, to put on a drive-in movie as a fundraiser event. And we are also going to be working with the local team orga-

nization, Toquet Hall, to put on a haunted walk-through for Halloween,” Moore said. Moore is attempting to expand Up Next to Fairfi eld and Wilton. He is currently trying to make the “[Other teen organization an oforganizations] try to fi cial 501(c) make it feel like it (3) for non-profit is a bunch of adults organizawho are working tions that are exempt together, when, in from federal inreality, it’s a bunch come taxes. of teens who are all “The aim right collaborating.” now is to -Addison Moore ’23 try and grow it and to make it as self-suffi cient as possible, and to make it as least reliant on myself as possible, so that if I were to [...] leave the town, it’s still running itself and still has its own board of directors,” Moore said. “It’s still a functioning organization because an organization that’s reliant on one individual is as much an organization as it is like that one person’s project.” Hannah Cohen ’23, who joined in March 2021, loves taking part in Up Next and sharing the experience with others. “I enjoy that I can learn about new things while also giving back,” Cohen said. “[The organization] brings our community together at the events that we put on.” Moore encourages other Staples students to join the organization. “Up Next is a fantastic opportunity to get to meet new kids,” Moore said. “It’s a great place to try and earn community service hours, to start to help out our community and to put on really awesome fun events. And as far as I’m aware, there hasn’t been a single kid that hasn’t liked it to date.”