The 3rd Scholarship Program’s Essay

" I cried because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet”

\r\n\r\n

Perhaps, I am much happier than others in this life.\r\nI do not have to wander, struggling to survive like underprivileged kids and I am\r\nnot a disabled child like those in SOS village. I can go to school and conquer\r\nmy own dream - a good international sale.

However, the road I follow has never been even at all. I had to be suspended\r\nfrom school for treatment of the disease of scoliosis in Saigon while I was in\r\nthe 9th grade. In addition, I have to wear orthopedic armor until now. Managing\r\nto have some money, my dad quitted his job to take me to Saigon for\r\n treatment. Bound to give up the dream of being selected to the provincial\r\nEnglish language team, I was so down and totally depressed. However, thanks to\r\nmy parents and friends encouragement, I can revive my confidence.

\r\n\r\n

Now, although my disease has been somewhat better and my\r\nparents are less fearful  of my health, they still carry the cost burden\r\nof bringing up my young sister and me and paying our schooling. I  attend\r\nuniversity in as far as Ho Chi Minh city and my younger sister studies in a\r\nspecialized school, which is far away from home, too. There is so much cost for\r\nour needs: accommodation,  school fee, food, books and so on. All depend\r\non my moms small trade in the market. Stomach pain has made her feel very\r\nuncomfortable. Moreover, she had to wake up at 1:00 A.M although she suffered\r\nfrom insomnia. So,  her health got worse and worse day-by-day.\r\nFurthermore, my father must make delivery from early morning every day. Passing\r\nhundreds of kilometers to come to delivery places, it made ​​him completely\r\nexhausted. Earlier, when I was at home, I hardly saw him whenever I  woke\r\nup every morning, I only saw  him at dinner. He looked weary, just ate a\r\nlight meal and then went to sleep. Almost 50, my father is not strong enough to\r\ncontinue this work anymore.
\r\n
\r\nSome years later, after graduating from university, I will have to find a job\r\nto cover my expense as well as support my sisters education instead of my\r\nparent. It is time my parents needed a rest; they are not able to work hard.\r\nBesides, there are lot of natural disasters such as storms and floods which\r\nconstantly cause crop failures annually in my hometown, Quang Nam province. I\r\nwonder what will happen to my parents if they continue their current hard jobs.\r\nEvery time, I have heard the news about the storm striking my hometown, I feel\r\nanxious.

\r\n\r\n

My dream is to become a good businessperson, and have the\r\nopportunity to study abroad in Japan via my own scholarship. To reach this\r\ntarget, I have to be good at learning, especially Japanese language with\r\nintense passion. I have tried to join activities in the soft skill clubs. By\r\nthis way, I can have more experiences in organizing programs for my future job.\r\nI am finding a job somewhere to experience more sense of harshness in work.\r\nBecause I know if I just keep concentrating on books without other necessary\r\nskills, I will face much difficulty in my future life.
\r\n
\r\nAchieving the title "A Student of Five Good Achievements" has made me\r\na lot more confident and I promise myself  trying harder to realize my own\r\ndream.
\r\n
\r\nIf I am granted this scholarship, I will be able to cover  my tuition\r\nthereby sharing burden with my parents ; they will not worry about my tuition\r\nany more. Also, I hope that my mother’s disease will be better and I will not\r\nhear my father breathe a sigh when I call home to ask for my school fee\r\n and my young sister can afford to buy her favorite  advanced books.
\r\n
\r\nWhether I am granted a scholarship or not, I would like to extend my sincere\r\nthanks to benefactors, philanthropists, honored monks of Hoang Phap pagoda who\r\nestablish the scholarship funds “Sowing the Seeds of Wisdom”, which gives us\r\nmore incentives to conquer our own dreams and sow the seeds of other nice\r\ndreams .

\r\n\r\n

 
\r\nDo Anh Thu Tran
\r\n
\r\nUniversity of Economic and Law, Department of Foreign Economic Relations,\r\nVietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City.

\r\n\r\n

 Translated by Pham Le Trung Khuong.

\r\n\r\n