Wisdom does not always come with age, but it is the result ofinvolvement and understanding.
Knowing that life is a constant reroute, Imanage to evolve myself to face its obstacles. Through all of the changes thathad happened in my life, I was able to acquire and maintain my personality aswell as my values which created much of who I am today. Needless to say, mylife has been an endless transition.I was born and raised in a Vietnamese family. Ata very young age, I vividly remember how it was like to live in a busy andcrowded city. My hometown was immensely similar to the life in New York, whichwas noisy and packed with people.
The city resembled a puzzle filled with tinyhouses. I had no social activities at all; only the path of going to school andback home was all I remembered. I was bullied by one of my classmates when I was in elementaryschool, and I told myself to forget about it and walked away. It felt like theworld was falling down around me. I just wished that I could move away fromthis depressing and disturbing place.
After getting a new job, my dad bought a new house in the suburbanarea farther away from the city. The atmosphere was distinguishable. Walkingthrough the new house’s gate, I could feel the fresh breeze and hear the wind whisperingthrough the trees. Everything appeared clearer in front of me because my soulwas easedwith peace. I already fell in love with thisplace. Due to its vastamounts of open land, it made me even more eager to explore. I made a lot offriends at my new school.
We used to ride our bikes to explore the area anddiscover secret pathways leading back to our homes. Besides that, my friendsand I went kiting, swimming in the river, and enjoyed our spontaneouslives of being kids. My neighbors were very friendly and willing to helpwhen others were in need. Since the majority of them were farmers, I got achance to observe and practice their hard work, and it was an eye-openingexperience. Farmers started their jobs before sunriseand left after sunset. Nevertheless, even the simplest tasks of planting, plowing, digging, and weeding, theyput a lot of effort into their work despite the bad weather. It was not thefarm that made the farmer, but it was all of their sweat and their characterthat made them who they are.
It was a priceless experience that had occurred inmy life and I was thankful for that. I understood the true meaning of being afarmer and understood that success only comes to people who strive to achievetheir goals regardless of their hardship. Once again, I moved. I came to America when I was fourteen. Ihad a bit of culture shock for a while, especially at school.
I was too shy tomake new friends. I struggled to understandand communicate with anyone due to thelanguage barrier. I was amazed and did not expect the level of competition atmy school; all of my friends seemed to be the smartest and the brightest whileI was just average. My family had high expectations of me.
I thought theywere being a bit harsh, but had it been otherwise, I would not be as determinedas I am today. However, I fought through, and I was able to pick up theAmerican culture which improved my manners and politeness as a person; I feltaccomplished.I have gone through a few bumpy roads growing up because ittook me a long time to understand what life had tooffer. Thanks to those bumpy roads and the support from my loved ones, I am nowcapable of adapting to different environments and situations; they had helpedme find myself and given me many different perspectives of life.