Yong Xin Zhao: Leading with art, music, and kindness
Yong Xin is well-known in the Brighton Campus community for his painting.
He was born to a farmer’s family in Jiangyin, China. His father died when he was only four years old, and his mother stepped up to support the family. Yong Xin joined the military and worked a couple years before he began a long career as a much-loved teacher, where he met his wife of 60 years, also a teacher.
After he retired and when his grandson grew up and needed less childcare, Yong Xin realized he had time to enrich his life again. So he became a student of art.
Yong Xin started with a class in Boston on traditional Chinese painting techniques. When he and his wife Xiuying moved to 2Life in 2011, he took an oil painting class for residents. Some of his large, beautiful paintings grace the halls of the building where he lives. A couple even hang in Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s office.
For Yong Xin, now 86, there have been two stages to his life at 2Life: before his 80s and after his 80s. For most of his time at 2Life, he was a leader in the community. It was easy for him to support his friends and fellow residents by running errands or helping them print a document or move a table. When 2Life’s singing group needed a new organizer, Yong Xin volunteered — at its height, more than 50 people were part of it.
After he turned 80 and began to face new health problems, Yong Xin found himself less able to help people as much as he would like. His hand trembles, and he no longer paints or leads the singing group. But he continues to find ways to have a happy, fulfilling life. He likes to sing songs that remind him of the good old days, both in Mandarin and English. He keeps up on his exercise and plays pool and mahjong. And he looks back at photos of his paintings and reminds himself that he was once capable of making art that others still enjoy.
When Yong Xin needs strength, he thinks of his mother and how she stepped up to support the whole family when his father died. It reminds him that he can be strong, too.
