Youth and dreams

I was born in a poor village, in the land known as the country's beloved central heartland, which bends under man-made and natural disasters season after season. Most of the people there work the land, spending the whole year with their faces to the earth and their backs to the sky, always haunted by the worry of food and clothing. And yet those honest farmers always create the best conditions they can for their children to study properly and decently, hoping their children will have a brighter future.

Thanks to God's grace and to my parents' sacrifice and encouragement, together with the help of my relatives, I was fortunate enough to be educated and to become a student of business administration at Vinh University. As a Catholic student, a child of Xuân Mỹ parish, I ask myself: what have I done, what am I doing, and what will I do to be worthy of my family's sacrifice and of my homeland?

Leaving my parents' arms and the shelter of my homeland, I went to the city to continue my studies. During my time as a first-year student I missed many opportunities because my English was too weak. The basic reason is that the way English is taught in secondary school still has many shortcomings and weaknesses. More and more I came to see the importance of English, because it is the international language; all the finest culture and knowledge of humanity is kept in English... and this second language has become a part of my life.

I always hold this in mind: if you want to change a person, a family, a village, a country or even a society, then invest in education. Seeing the situation of my homeland and the role of English now and in the future, I have long nurtured the dream of building an English centre right on the soil of my own homeland. My English centre will be a place to hone English ability, a place to give wings to children's dreams so that they may discover the civilisation and knowledge of humanity, and to add to what they carry so they can walk firmly on the road to success.

From this moment I will begin to carry out my dream by laying out a sensible study plan; while I am still sitting in the lecture hall of Vinh University I will equip myself with the knowledge I need. Although I know the road to a dream is not at all easy, with faith, with will, and especially with God's grace, I firmly believe that I will make my dream come true.

Đặng Thị Xinh Xuân Mỹ Parish – Nhân Hòa Deanery Field: Business Administration Vinh University