My name is Duong Pham. I was born in Saigon, Vietnam, in November 11, 1981. I have been here in The United States for almost seven years. I am living with my parents and my two sisters. For less than seven years in United States, I have learned great things both in education and life. Separation in my family shaped my life differently from others, significantly, in family value and education. It gave me a sense of urgency, to strive for better opportunities and joy in life. This is how my new life began; however, the most painful memory in my life, which I will never forget, is my family separation.
In 1989, the business in Vietnam was so slow, bankruptcies and debts were all over the country. In September 3, 1989, my father and my oldest sister decided to leave Vietnam in order to seek for a better life, where we can find freedom, better education, and better future. They had to escape, which was hard to get to United States of America by boat, and there were a lot of pains. They didn’t want the rest of us to go with them because they were afraid that we were all going to get caught by the police, or if something bad happened the whole family would die. In addition, I was only 6 years old, my father was afraid that I could not suffer that much of pains. There was no way to contact them after they had left. We cried a lot, every single day, because we thought that either they were dead or the police had caught them. The only thing we could do was pray to God, and hope they were still alive. About two months later, we received their letter. A Holland ship rescued and secured them when they were almost dead because of Tornado. They were taken to Hong Kong. They had to live in Hong Kong for six months and Philippine for six months to wait for the paper work and learn English before they could come to the U.S. They came to the United States in 1990. My father tried to take us over for a family reunion. The U.S immigration called my mom, my older sister and me in 1993 for an interview. Unfortunately, there was a problem; they didn’t believe that my parent’s marriage was real. They did not approve us to come to the U.S. We were devastated.
The Essay on The Family Unit And The Health Care System
The family unit and the health care system The family unit has been slowly disintegrating like The Soviet Union. Uncles and aunts left for distant places and came back seldom. Sometimes only grandma and grandpa were left in the old homestead. Grandchildren came to visit in the holidays, if they were in the same country. Now even Mom and dad are splitting with single parent families being 53% of ...
My dad was so angry; he had talked to the congressman to seek his help. In 1995, the U.S immigration called us again for an interview, but only my sister and I were called. Everything was perfect this time, we passed the interview, and they approved us to come to the U.S. However, we didn’t want to leave my mom in Vietnam alone. We decided not to go, but my mom told us that we have to go. There were two reasons: first, this is what my dad is waiting for; second, we can have better future in United States. So, we were separated again.
After we came to United States in January, 1996, my oldest sister got her U.S citizen certificate, and she began to do the paper work again to get my mom over. Finally, my mom came here in October 1997. Throughout the years we are very thankful for the blessing that we received from God. There was a time when American missionaries arrived at our home and asked if they may share with us in brief about their church. We welcomed them to our home and from this point onward they’ve taught us the bible, gospel principles, the book of Mormon, and purpose of life. Years after our reunion, we attended church regularly after being baptized as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS).
Now we are happy and appreciate life more after nine years of separation. By becoming a member of LDS, I realized that the peoples inside the church are like my second family. I felt the love and appreciation from them and I’m very grateful with the blessing from our Heavenly Father.
I am happy to live in United States, where I have innumerable opportunities to be successful, though I have experienced very tough times when I first came here without knowing anything, especially English. Going to school was the number one fear that I have had. I did not know anything when I first attended Fondren Middle School for the last few months of my 8th grade. Everyone, including other Vietnamese girls and boys, looked at me like I was an idiot. I thought I was going to drop out school rather than being teased. Luckily in high school I’ve found two best friends, Binh and Vang, were very supportive. Throughout my high school years at Westbury, I was able to learn a lot of things with quick pace; in efforts it helped me to catch up with my classmates and friends. Most of my teachers were very supportive in helping me getting better education. My teachers and friends helped to strengthen me mentally; they showed me the meaning of life and I’ve become wiser in making moral decisions.
The Homework on The Issues With Balancing School,work And Family
Having a family is a big responsiblity. When you add having three children with going to school and work, it can make life very hectic. Going to school and having a job takes a lot of work. Not only for the person who is dealing with all of these commitments, but for the entire family. They all have to work together as one unit to make it all not only possible, but successful. There are six ...
Like I said earlier, I have been here less than seven years. I know my English is not good enough, but I am trying my best to achieve my goals. No one can tease me like before, because they have been watching me and they know that I am not useless, they know what I am going for. Now that I’m in college, I wanted to graduate with a high GPA and have a good job. In addition, I wanted to support my family and my relatives back in Vietnam. Going to church and school, I have become a good person and have accomplished many things in these past years. I love my family more than anything in the world. I have promised myself that I will never disappoint my family.
