Category: APLang-Default

You were gone. You said you have tried but this was your limits. You said I could no longer give you the safeness you felt back when we were 18. You said I had changed. Too much that even a kind person like you could not handle it. You said it seemed like I did not need you anymore. You said you wanted my old self back. You said you needed space. You said a lot of things before you left. We were not being an amazing couple anymore.

I did not bother to chase you, because I thought you would come back. You always came back. However, what a fool I was. I should have known that this time was different from the others. This time, we had a fight. The other times, we had a smile on our faces. This time, you stomped out of the door by yourself. The other times, we would lovingly go outside together. This time, you cried and I stood there silently. The other times, we both laughed happily. This time, you left because of a bad reason – me. The other times, you left because of some good reasons – like the groceries. You stepped out of the door without a single glance back at me. After a while, I then doubt my beautiful angel would come back for the ugly devil.

My doubt was right.

I was standing in the middle of the living room, the same exact spot where our fight exploded. Clueless. I tried to process through what you said few minutes ago. The clock kept ticking, and a phone call from you cut my thoughts. I picked the phone up, still believing it was from you. But, I tightened my grip as soon as the person on the line spoke their first words. It’s not you. That’s not your voice. A strong wave of guilt strongly embraced and crushed me as the person was feeding me your situation. They said you were rushing through the crossing, and a reckless car hit you. People there said it all happened in a blink of an eye. Luckily, a good resident in the area had called the ambulance to take you away. Just in time. I almost broke down when I finished the call with the nurse. The only words in my head in that moment were: “Please, my angel, please hang on.”

I still could not believe that we were now tied together. Forever. As a newlywed couple, we were extremely lovey-dovey Every morning, I would wake up to the smell of your delicious dishes. My favorite meal of the day is your own special mouth-watering breakfast with some golden blueberries pancakes with maple syrup dripping down the edge, a cup of black coffee, and a small bowl of  fresh fruits. Your skills were the same of those top chefs people usually talked about. From times to times, I would take over the kitchen so my princess could rest. I often took you out on the weekends: to the mall, to the theater, to the park, basically to anywhere you wanted. When we didn’t go out, we would happily enjoy our free time at home. We would either watch some movies or make our own mini-concerts. I remember you hated horror movies. Yet these are my favorites. Because when you were scared, you would cling on me tightly. You looked cute when you were scared. And our little concerts that we would do once in awhile. You would be the singer, and I would be the guy who play guitar for you. We would perform with our heart and soul, until my hands were tired and your voice cracked. Those were one of the greatest memories I had ever had.

4 more years passed by, we weren’t the newlywed couple anymore. We became more mature and somewhat colder towards each other. Actually the only one who had become colder in this relationship was me. At that time, no butterflies were in my stomach when I saw you. At least not that many anymore. Like the old days. Maybe the real life had got us down? We were 26 then. Young and freshly graduated from college. We started to look for jobs. Gradually, we forgot our love as we got to face the real world. The adult world. The world where life stressed out our mind and slowly killed us. The world where we had no time to send each other our love. The world where our butterflies were leisurely dying in front of our eyes, without our knowledge. I began to treat you in the worst way I could ever think of. We had some serious fights every now and then. It started with some small things, like “What should we buy today?” And then the topic changed to “I hate my life.” Things started to break apart. However, your words were still as nice as usual. Mine were not. They were arrogant and full of annoyed stuffs. I remembered how hurt your look was when I stood there and threw anything I have to the wall. Our movie nights decreased as time went on. Our mini-concert vanished like it had never happened in our life. I was so upset with my life that I stopped caring about you. At least not that much anymore. That’s when I lost my most precious thing in life. Without even knowing.

July 23rd. The day I had been waiting for my whole life. The day I could claim you as my own muse in front of the whole world. I still remembered how nervous I was when waiting for you at the end of the aisle. I kept on gazing at my watch, wondered why time was passing so slow. After what seemed like forever, you finally entered the room with your father. At that moment, my body suddenly became weird. My heart stopped beating, my blood stopped flowing, and my eyes could not stopped staring at you – my beautiful princess in her elegant white dress. Everyone quietly stood up and their gazes followed every step you take. You tried to hide your shyness by gluing your eyes to the roses bouquet and tightened your grab on your father. I could not help but smiling even brighter as you came closer to my spot. Your dad put your hand on mine with a trusting and pleasing look on his face. We made our vows and I took your first kiss as husband and wife. On that day, everything was perfect.

After the honeymoon, we headed back to our cozy home. I hardly ever called the place I lived “home”, because had it never gave me the nice feeling a home should have. But it changed after you walked into my life. The moment your presence was a part of this apartment, I know it had become my real home. When I was still a senior in highschool, I moved out of my parents’ house. I wanted to be a cool and independent guy in my friends’ eyes. However, I had never thought about the loneliness and homesickness I would get in exchange for their admirations. I started to join those overnight parties at some friends’ houses. Without my parents’ knowing and being an 18 years old boy meant I could do anything I liked. In my priorities, study became less and less important.

My life went downhill. Fast.

But I was lucky enough to meet you. Back then, you were the angelic newbie everyone was talking about. You were a pretty and kind student from another country. Our first meeting was in Chemistry class. You sat next to me and we became lab partners for the whole year. As time passed, we became more than just lab buddies. We talked. We laughed. We cried. We did almost everything together. You and I were like best friends. I shared with you my stories, and you pulled me out of the dark with your beautiful voice. Your songs and words were the best medicine to me.

I have a huge affection for Saigonese. To me, these people are the friendliest humans I have ever seen. Wherever you go, people would greet you with a smile on their faces. They are willing to help whoever is in trouble. No matter your nationality, your language, your beliefs, your look, etc. Even when they couldn’t understand you, they would still try to at least sort something out for you. As long as you treat them with proper attitudes, they would go out of their way to help you.

I have made tons of memories with my Saigonese fellows. On Valentine’s Day, the boys in my class would sing and give tiny presents to the girls. They would help us carrying our backpacks, which is extra weights (theirs and ours). Basically, they are our ‘slaves’ on that day. On Vietnamese Teacher’s Day, graduated students from my secondary school would come back and perform for our teachers. As a whole school, we have made so many surprises and events for our teachers. I love it when they burst out in tears because they can feel our strong love and gratitude towards them. While studying, not only teachers but the students also take very good care of me. Even when I am not in the school anymore, they still advise and follow every step I take on my way to success. Being a traveler at birth, I never want to stay anywhere too long. I want to go out and explore as much as I can. From times to times, I would go around the city with my parents or friends to find interesting secret places. The thrill of finding places that even experienced locals don’t know excites me. I am also a local myself, but to fully learn about the city, I have a long way to go.

Saigon has formed me today. From the day I was born, I know that I would go out to the world and proudly say I am a Saigonese. Right at this moment, I am continuing my journey to finish the puzzle of my life. Thanks to Saigon, I think quite a space of it has already been done. But, seems like the puzzle still has thousands of missing pieces. I am collecting more and more extraordinary pieces every single day. There’s many more to learn ahead. I hope this puzzle would be completed soon.

Time flies, things change. Saigon has put on an expensive suit to replace its worn-out outfit. Now, it is considered one of the biggest and most modern cities in Vietnam. Contemporary skyscrapers, wide cement-concrete roads, new construction sites, travelers from all over the world, and towns for foreigners have become some of those ordinary things in a Saigonese (I like to call the residents of Saigon by this name) life. Being the ‘Pear of the Far East’, investments pour into Saigon come from everywhere in the world. Companies begin to recognize the potential of this precious pearl. They build branches in my city, which greatly help out an amount of jobless citizens. People are competing to lay a hand on this shiny place. Even so, comparing to strong cities, we still have a lot to learn from and to improve. Just like me, I used to be a bird-in-a-cage-kind-of-child because of my weak body. “I make people (includes my family) wash their hands before they can lay a finger on you.” – my dad once told me. My life was a cycle of school and home. The only ones that I was closed to were the auntie’s family next door. Despite being busy, my parents did try their best to take me on several trips. At the age of 10, I have already traveled both internationally and locally several times. After the cage has loosened a bit, I slowly realized that changing is a must in order to survive in this cruel reality. I tore off the princess’ cover and turned into a warrior. I headed out to the world, overcame challenges, got my hand on plenty of opportunities, and gradually grown into a new person. I have achieved some big attainments that made me quite proud of myself. For example, I achieved a crazy high score on an English exam. Because of this, my old primary school wanted me to continue studying at their secondary branch, so they could use my image to promote for their school. Sounded crazy, right? For once, people started to accept me as a true talent.

I tend to believe that the place where you choose to live is one of the most important decisions of one’s life. Because it will not only affect you, but it will also affect your children in the future. To me, my hometown is the second aspect, after my parents, which has helped shape me into the person I become today. From the little ant on the muddy road to the big never-ending river in front of my house. From the energetic kids in town to the friendly lady next door. Each of them holds a special piece of my life and a special place in my heart. Some I have already collected and carefully put them in one of the shelves in my heart, some are yet to be discovered.

Saigon used to be a small, almost unknown place in the past. When people finally landed an eye on it, horrifying events broke out. Thousand of dangers and wars came, part of the city became another country’s property, rivers of blood were shed. More than 1000 years, we were under the rulings of England, America, Japan, and China. But the resilient Saigon had stood up to drive those negative forces away. It won against some of the gigantic beasts at the time. Just like me, I was born as a premature child, who was as weak as a cherry blossom petal in a stormy night, and as tiny as a bottle of water. My aunt must use her connection so the director of the hospital would come to help me. He put me in a crystal-clear cage, where not even a single bacteria could reach me. Imagine a child with so many wires coming out from her body, that’s exactly how I looked like. Even my parents started losing their hope. To everyone’s surprise, I survived. I have successfully proved to everyone at the hospital that day, I am the true child with the spirit of Saigon.

“Grab your helmet! Climb on! And let’s go!” That was how we began our little adventure. Simple. Unplanned.

We started what we called “Iris and Her Dad’s Adventure” in a blink of an eye. On his huge cranberry-colored motorbike, we rambled through the streets of Saigon, from the infamous places where thousand of tourists came to visit, to the unknown places which even a long-time-Saigonese would not know.

There was a special tradition between the two of us. Whenever he took me for a ride, no matter where we were heading, I would always start talking about my day or just ranting about my life. To me, dad and his motorbike are a combo that could make me share everything in the world. He made me and my secrets feel safe. That day, we (mostly I) talked a lot. I told him about my worries when studying abroad alone. I told him about what I wanted to be in the future. I told him about my friends, and about my school. I told him parts of my secrets. He would concentrate on my stories and show no boredom. He also gave me great advices and encouragements. His voice is like a calm ocean in the middle of summer. It dissolved my negative thoughts and left me with positive ideas.

My eyes sparkled with joys and my heart jumped in excitement when he took me to several different delicious places. While we were having dinner, I asked him the reason for today’s trip. His answer was: “Since you said you wanted to explore and engrave the streets of Saigon. I simply think why not today?” It was only an idea that slipped off my tongue randomly, yet my dad cared so much about my little crazy talks.

Thank you Dad…for adventures like this!

According to Google, “friend is a person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection, typically exclusive of sexual or family relations”. In my opinion, that is a very loose definition. Google gets the no sex part of the relationship, but this is not detailed enough. In my opinion, friendship is something holy and special. It is also something extremely difficult to achieve. Just plainly share one aspect of your life to somebody does not mean you are their friends. Friends are the people who you trust no matter what happens. Friends are family, and family does not betray each other (or do they?). To me, friends are those who I could barge into their room and rant for hours without feeling uncomfortable. Friends are also the ones I would not hesitate to protect and defend them from obstacles in life.

In the past, making friends meant socializing offline. For instance, when I was in middle school, I would invite my friend over for a meal. Afterwards, we would play some traditional games to strengthen our bonds. Now, especially when I have to be far away from home, social medias are what I have to count on in order to preserve my relationships. Messaging and video calling each other are some of the ways, if not only, for me to keep in touch with my dear friends. Given the fact that high schoolers have much more work than lower graders, it is rather difficult for me to contact my friends at home on a daily basis. From times to times, I would feel as if the distance and time differences are gradually separating my best friend and I.

A relationship needs to come from both sides, that is my motto. I would not want to be in a friendship where I always have to be the active person. I want to receive texts and calls from my friends at random times just to keep me updated about their life. I do not want people to contact me because they need something from the “abroad student”. Those who do that are my acquaintances. And they would forever stay so.

Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance is a core sector that USAID is funding in the meantime. One of their main goals is to promote and strengthen human rights all over the world. This is a particularly important issue for the US to help solve because of the following reasons.

First of all, it is believed that having strong human rights will increase the power of the host countries, especially the government. In fact, countries with a weak government have 30%-45% higher risk of civil war and extreme criminal violence. If the government is powerful, then it means our allies will become more indestructible. With these allies, the US can secure their borders better and it will be one less issue to be worried about. Besides, more allies mean less war since they all have the same goal to reach.

Second of all, the economy will grow faster if they have the same ground idea. They know what to trade and how to it without touching the rights of their own people. Workers will get more chances to prove their worths to the world. With the ability to express their ideas freely, they may come up with exceptionally good ideas that can effectively change the economy of a country.

Last but not least, human dignity will be advanced because they have more freedom to express themselves. In-depth, the poor and the disabilities can actually feel that they deserve to be in the community. As you may have known, these two groups of people are usually the targets of bullying and mistreating. Many of them have committed suicide or being killed because either the others or themselves don’t think they belong to this world. However, if we can improve human rights in the countries that have this kind of issue, we can actually save so many lives and help them become a greater group.

The USAID has proved that they do not say things without doing it. Established in 2006, the Elections and Political Processes have provided critical support to 80 countries or sub-regions. They have helped these countries solving their government’s issues. Another program is the Human Rights Grants Program since 2011. They have addressed some of the most urgent Human Rights challenges in 89 different countries and helped cure the people in those countries physically and emotionally. One more program is the five-year Global Labor Program in 2016, which promotes labor rights and access justice for workers all over the world. It covers activities in 31 countries, including Cambodia, Bangladesh, Burma, Ukraine, Morocco, South Africa, Colombia, Mexico and regional programs in Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Southern Africa and Latin America.

In conclusion, the USAID has been and is helping the world to become a better world where human rights is not an issue anymore. The process is being made every single day.

I was honored to be the co-organizer for Thornton Academy’s first ever TEDx event. Being able to lead a team full of aspiring members was a whole new experience for me, given the fact that I had always been a strong follower when it came to teamwork. I appreciate each and every one of the members, since they did put countless of hours and efforts into making the event happened.

Throughout the process, ups and downs were definitely unavoidable. For instance, the time when I almost screamed at everyone for slacking off in the library. Or the meeting where I sarcastically made comments about some members’ performances. However, as a team, we knew how to cheer one another up and keep encouraging the team in other to successfully finish tasks. We also learned how to rearrange our schedules to fit TEDx meetings in. As a part of the organizing team, I personally think I have learned a lot from my fellow members.

Besides the organizers, our student had speakers greatly amazed me. Some grew from being unable to complete their draft into talking in front of about 100 people within the time limits. Others finished their talk in a blink of an eye but lacked public speaking skills, yet with courage and practices, they fluently delivered their first TED talk to the audience.

Most importantly, I could not have produced this big of an event without the unconditional support of Zoey (the other co-organizer and one of the best human beings in the world). She kept me grounded and stayed focused whenever I wanted to evaporate from earth. She remained the calm and wise one.We went through breakdowns together. We comforted each other about TEDx on a monthly basis.

By creating the event, our team brought a worldwide platform to the community. I would like to thank each person who was involved in the process. It was a pleasure having everyone on board. Keep on doing extraordinary things even after TEDx!