Holly Thompson Was
Given Hope In The Back Of A Taxi Cab.
By Kim Goldberg, ENLG
336
“There is no way for me to know
where my birth parents are, I was left in a taxi and became an orphan.” – Holly
Thompson.
Now in her second year at Frostburg
State University, English major Holly Thompson reflects on her journey as an
orphan and how different her life would have been if she had not been
adopted.
Zhou Bingdi, Holly Thompson’s birth
name, was left in the back of a taxi cab when she was just a baby. Upon the
discovery of her abandonment, she was taken to an orphanage. Due to her
circumstances, her real birthday and age will never be known. Instead, doctors
estimated her age and assigned her a birthday, December 17th 1996, the day she
was found. When Zhou Bingdi was presumably eighteen months old, she was adopted
by an American family and brought back to the United States. Mr. Thompson
traveled to China with a group of fellow American families also adopting children
from China. While in China, Mr. Thompson encountered some difficulties with the
adoption, at which time Zhou Bingdi also contracted chicken pox, thus causing
Mr. Thompson to extend his stay in China. Eventually, Mr. Thompson and Zhou
Bingdi were able to come back to the U.S. and join the rest of the family.
The Thompson’s decided to change Zhou
Bingdi’s name to Holly Bingdi Thompson. Thompson's adopted parents already had
a daughter older than Holly, but were not able to have any more children,
fueling their decision to adopt. They had always had a specific interest in
helping out children from foreign countries like China. Thompson attended,
Hickory Elementary in Harford County, a predominantly Caucasian elementary
school and recalls being picked on because she looked different from her
family, “When I was little I didn’t like being ‘THE’ Asian at an all-white
school." Thompson says that, even though she was picked on, she was
grateful to have been adopted by the Thompsons because it gave her a promising
life style she “would never have had if [she] had stayed in China."
Growing up, Thompson was told she was adopted, but she says she knew this from
the start, “It wasn’t like I woke up one day and looked in the mirror and said;
wait a second, I’m different. I always knew."
Holly Thompson (18) poses in Cumberland Hall
When telling her story, Thompson is
not filled with anger or remorse but rather curiosity. Thompson believes she
was left in the taxi because she was a female child in China at a time when
having a girl was frowned upon. She also speculates that being given up for
adoption could have been due to the fact that Chinese families were only
permitted to have two children, and Thompson may have been the third child in
her original family. She is curious to know about her real parents and hopes to
find them someday. She also wants to learn more about her Chinese heritage and
hopes to visit China and teach herself the language.
Thompson's adoption has influenced
her political interest as well as her personal life. Thompson hopes Ben Carson
will win the election because of the special connection she has with him. “As a
baby, when you are in the orphanage you don’t get held as much and you develop
a flat spot on your head," Thompson said. As a result of her “flat spot”,
she was taken to the doctor to be checked out. Her doctor at the time was Ben
Carson. Thompson has always been interested in presidential elections but is
now a dedicated follower of the elections because of her personal connection
with the candidate. “How cool would it be if Ben Carson, the doctor who held me
as a baby, became president!” she said. Because she was adopted, Thompson said
she too would want to adopt in the future and help give another child from
China a similar opportunity for a better future.
