Just like everyone else, I grew up admiring certain people and wishing to become just like them. I think idolizing someone is a necessary step in developing your own personality and finding your own identity. Luckily, I grew up not admiring celebrities just because they are pretty or can sing very well or simply marry to money. I grew up finding myself discussing with my parents during dinner about how exciting school was or when would be our next charity trip, and how I could contribute. They were willing for me to take a day off school to join in those activities – with me promising I would make up for that day by studying/ doing homework on bus – because for them “education is for a lifetime, not only a day or two”. I think that’s the root why I always admire people having an impact in community no matter a small one like in class/school/neighborhood or a big one like an area/a city/a country, etc.
Me keeping my promise to focus on study in one of those charity trips while other people had fun
First and foremost, you can tell I admire my parents. My dad was the smartest person I’ve ever met. No wonder why he became a neurosurgeon! I’ve heard from my mom that there were only two students in each class chosen to follow the path and he was the only one without some “relationship”. I’ve been told by his friends that when he was a 4th-year student, he would always go to some hospitals nearby every night to shadow and later assist in surgery. He was so good that he got to mentor some 5th-year medical students during their rotation. He was so smart that he could remember the whole book after reading it in a day. Sadly, what I realized is people that smart most likely will have big trouble in their personal life – maybe their brains just function in a different way I guess. I know my dad was not a perfect parent but I know he loved me and my siblings the perfect way he could.
My late dad in one of his last charity trips
I admire my mom for her strength and perseverance. She moved to the U.S at her 50s, gave up her career as a dentist in Vietnam just so her children can have a better life. With all the trauma from the past, adding up being estranged in a new country with a new language and 2 growing-up boys that she needed to care for, she still managed to graduate college as a licensed practical nurse with 3.98 GPA. I am on the easy route, with a better start thanks to her sacrifice. Without her, I don’t think I ever made it here let alone living my dream. I never allow myself to give up because she never give up. Somehow at her 50s, I feel like she has more energy than me. You can find her organizing potluck or holding birthday/retirement party for her colleagues at the cardiovascular department at Madigan Army Medical Center. While I’m the introverted one in the house and love sitting in my corner thinking about the universe, she is so outgoing and love to be around people. Maybe that’s why she found the charity organization (that I mentioned in my post about passion) more than 15 years ago.
My mom, my two brothers and one of my best friends during one of the activities
My mom in one of the trips
When I was a kid, I always jumped of joy when my granduncle visited. He could just share with us his knowledge in no matter which subjects we discussed about with great sense of humor. He has been a writer for his whole life – a very talented one. He lived through 3 wars – the Indochina war, the Vietnam war and then a smaller war along the border between Vietnam – China. He witnessed the loss of his beloved family and friends, took care of his friends’ family just like his own. At one time he worked to provide food and shelter for 15-20 people. After the Vietnam war, people with history of working for the Southern government (aka Saigon's government) or U.S. government had a hard time with finding a job if they were lucky enough not to be sent to “re-education camp” for years. I don’t know how he managed to find a job to provide for himself let alone providing for his friends who couldn’t work. For the longest time, he had to use different pseudonyms and used personal relationship to hide identity only then his articles got published. I still remember the first time he got one article published under his real name, he bought the newspaper and delivered it to all his family and friends (it was around year 2000). I feel like he is a living Vietnam history. He is a real-life saint who sacrifice his own happiness for others. Fortunately, he is now a well-known translator in Vietnam who translated so many books from The Godfather to Eragon. One of his readers commented “I couldn’t believe the translator was 80 years old. I thought this was someone in their 20s. How could he know all the youngster’s slang?” He is the one guiding me to my writing. I helped him with translating sometimes and although I suck at it, writing becomes my favorite creativity activity. And if you wonder why I love history, especially Vietnam history, it came from him. So if you live in Vietnam and happen to come across any books from "Đặng Phi Bằng", please check them out ^^ Thanks in advance.
I am so proud to call him my granduncle
Last but not least, my ”newest” idol is one of the most successful Vietnamese abroad. I first knew about her when I watched a show for Vietnamese abroad called “Paris by night”. She’s strong, she’s talented, she’s successful, but the thing that struck me the most was her pride in being a Vietnamese and her passion to bring education to less fortunate children in Vietnam. Her goal is to break the gap, build the connection between Vietnamese abroad and Vietnamese in homeland and to help young Vietnamese born abroad understand more of their root. Her speech was so inspirational that I kept watching it for so many times. When I was down, I would watch her and tell myself “That’s it! You have to be successful, so you can help others just like she does”. It’s not that being not successful yet is an excuse to not helping people. You can always help others – a kind word that can lift someone’s spirit up, or helping someone to cross a street. What I mean is she impacts so many more lives at her level. A few years ago I learned that she was my mom’s high school friend before she escaped Vietnam (yes she was one of the boat people). How awesome is that! My mom was invited to her house for a high school reunion last year in Houston, Texas and of course my mom took me with her. You can imagine how excited I was. Her name is Duy-Loan Le and I’m pretty sure there are tons of her videos on youtube if you are interested in learning more.
I am very fortunate to get to know so many inspirational people. Everyone is unique and I believe everyone has been fighting a battle that I may know nothing about to get to this day. I learn from you all and admire you all.
- Be smart! Be brave! Be fabulous! -