Our house has always been full of plant life. My mom has green thumb (园丁能手). Every summer, she transforms our backyard into a fruit and vegetable farm. For two months, our dinner plates are filled with snow peas, sweet green tomatoes and spicy peppers.

Mom puts the same care and attention into her family as she does into the houseplants and garden. I grew under the sunshine of her smile I loved spending summer afternoons digging up worms in the backyard with my mom. I listened to stories about her childhood in remote northern China. Her favorite was about how she used to get up before the sun to get to school and how the corn stalks (玉米杆), which grew twice as tall as her on both sides of the path, moved in the wind, making her scared.

This November will mark 21 years since my parents left their comfortable life in China for Canada’s cold weather. Their first years were hard. They got by in a rented basement apartment. My mom held me in her lap while she sewed wedding dresses. Compared with my mom, I’ve had an easy life.

I’ve been thinking lot about my identity and how it was shaped by my mom’s influence. I might have never discovered a love for reading if she hadn’t read me a bedtime story every night or a love of music if she hadn’t taught me to play the piano. I have so much to learn, so much still to do. But thanks to my mom, I’ve got solid roots that I can draw on as I grow into my future.

My goal for university is to keep plants alive in my dorm for an entire year. My mom has been teaching me how. In September, I’ll go off to university, and these plants will sit on my dorm windowsill (窗台). They’ll stay alive because I’ll take care of them the same way that my mom took care of me. They’ll thrive, even. How could they not, when they’re supported by one (and a half) green thumbs?

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