Believe in yourself by The

Believe in yourself by The - December 2024 Scholarship Essay

Growing up in the small, beautiful country of Vietnam, I never imagined leaving the comforts of home. Surrounded by the warmth of my family and the familiarity of my country’s language, life was simple and predictable.

But everything changed on July 10, 2020, the day that I left Vietnam to move to the United States with my family to reunite with my grandparents.

In those early days in the U.S., even a simple trip to the grocery store filled me with dread. The unfamiliar words on signs, the chatter I couldn’t understand-it all made me feel isolated. I remember the knots in my stomach as I avoided eye contact, afraid that someone might speak to me and expose my lack of English. I only knew a few English words and phrases such as “hello, goodbye, how are you” and barely remember the alphabets. It’s the first time I was worried so much about where my life would go, what other people think when they see me; I could even imagine the whispers and the stares from people in public. The fear of being misunderstood or judged kept me indoors, where I felt safe. This brought me so much stress at that moment.

Freshman year in high school was the year that I’ll never forget and always be grateful for because it’s the year that changed my whole life. I took my first classes in person after taking classes online in my 8th grade. It was nerve racking going into classes, sitting, and listening to teachers and friends without knowing anything they were talking about. One of my classes was English Second Language, I met a wonderful teacher and my life saver. With her providing all the support, I worked the hardest I’ve ever worked to get adapted to the new environment. I did it, not only finishing the school year with straight A’s, but also gained the confidence to communicate and make friends. Looking back realizing that I wasted an entire year paralyzed by fear. That year of fear, however, taught me the importance of resilience and growth often comes from discomfort.

Just as I began to find my footing, life threw me another challenge: my parents decided to move to Florida. Moving to Florida, I lost all friends and teachers whose supported me that I wanted to be around for the rest of my high school career. It was another hard time for me to get adapted to a new environment.

Starting over at Lake Minneola High School for my sophomore year, it was a good start since I was able to communicate with new friends and teachers. I was determined not to let fear hold me back by making the soccer team. However, my excitement and happiness was short lived. After the first few days of soccer with my new team, I began to face something I had never experienced before: racism. People made fun of my accent; one of my teamates told me “Go back to Vietnam.” This broke my heart.

I spent the whole summer in a deep depression. But starting the Junior year in high school, I realized that I couldn’t continue living in sadness. I decided to speak up for myself and take control of my own narrative. My life in general and my high school career subsequently got back on track with me being successful in classes and happy with everything I do.

Through my story, I want to let everyone that is struggling to not ever give up in their life without trying or putting in efforts to solve the problems. Every choice they make will have an impact in their life. Challenges will never stop coming, and facing challenges is the best way to overcome them in life and make themselves stronger and better.