My life has generally been fulfilling. I was born on April 17, 1983 in
Hue, Vietnam. I grew up with 2 older brothers and 4 sisters. Being the 6th
youngest girl in the family was tough because I don't get much attention
around. I grew up from a pretty conservative background and a very strict and
traditional Vietnamese upbringing, and was raised in a well manner much all my
life. I still vividly remember the kindergarten that I attended, all the busy
streets in downtown of Hue where my friends and I rode bikes, and the places
that I always stopped by to have a sugar cane drink or an ice cream scoop after
a sunny hot day after school. I miss Hue and the foods very much. My family
moved to California to create a better life and have a better future for my
brothers, sisters and I. I quickly adjusted to the beautiful and cool weather
and learned to speak English rapidly. Because of this, I assimilated into the
culture quickly enough to start school a few months later. We lived in
Hollywood for about a few short months then quickly moved to Los Angeles,
because there aren’t that many Asians in Hollywood.
My childhood was quite pleasing and my parents had always shown me great
love and care. I have to admit I was adored and praised a lot when I was young
and guess it had somehow began developing my self-confidence since then on. I
think I was a very lovable, friendly, and even compassionate child to all
people around me. Everywhere I go, I always had my best friend in Vietnam, Thuy
accompany me and watch over my safety. We were like sisters…we do
practically everything together and we shared our feelings and love to each
others. Everywhere she go, she would bring me along and teach me many great
things. Even though we are apart now, but our friendship had never changed a
bit. Of course it’s difficult for both of us to contact each other, but we
still keep in touch and never stop loving each others.
In my teens, I've gone through transformations from a happy-go-lucky
teenager to a mature and responsible adolescent. I was a very shy child, a
definite girly girl, with a few white friends from Hollywood. Many of my close
friends were the kids I met in Sunday Vietnamese School (Boys & Girls
Scout). High school was a challenging one, on the other hand. Like all
teenagers, I've gone through ups and downs with my peers. Seems like my
reputation was always on the line no matter what I do. Rumors in school spread
like fire about practically everything about me. Everyone knows me in school
even though sometimes I don't have a clue who most of them are. The reason for
that was probably my lack from smiling and laughing too much when I was out of
class. There were lonely times but many were fun times. Although sometimes I
felt I was an outcast, I was part of the popular crowd. I hanged out with some
popular friends and just try to fit in all the time. Through that, it led to my
enforcement on my school spirit and class patriotism. Contact sport was not on
my list of favorite things to do. I am more into studying when I was young
because education was very important to me and especially my parents.
Friends and family are the components to what makes our life endearing.
My family and I have gone through many rough times and it seems hard to find
someone with an empathetic ear and someone to depend on. I value true
friendships and people who I can count on. It is a blessing to find someone who
is true and loyal to me; despite all circumstances, knowing that particular
person will be there for me unconditionally, and I would likewise. I've
encountered many disloyal and negative people in my life and so I've come to
learn how to distinguish between the good and the bad. I only welcome positive,
friendly, and upbeat people in my life and disengage those who are unworthy of
my time. Like what people say, choose your friends wisely.
After graduating from high school, I went to couple colleges for several majors. My first school was at
Brooks College which I
major in Multimedia Design (2 yrs program). After I graduate with my AA degree at Brooks, I decided to pursue
my dream and attend Bryman College (9 months course) for Massage Therapy while I was attending CSULB for Physical Therapy (4 years course).
After I got my certificate from Bryman, I've worked at 3 different spas in Pasadena for experiences. The first spa was Serenity, the second spa was Acuspa, and the third spa was Green Tree Therapy.
I quit doing massage almost a year now and I am currently working at Kaiser Permanente in San Jose as a Physical Therapist. I love working here and I was very lucky to get hired there. The pay is so good and
I am so excited to start a new chapter in my life. This year by far is the best year of my life. I just recently got married to a wonderful man name Johnny Vo on Nov. 4, 2006. I got accepted to UCSF Medical School for my Master in PT. There are so many other good things that has happened to me this year. I am so blessed and grateful.
My hard work has finally pay off! I am so proud of myself for all my accomplishments this year. I thank the lord, Buddha for always watching over me and for all his blessings. ;)
I make very good living doing what I really love and not to mention I'm living large and enjoying life to the fullest! Going to college wasn't easy for me at that time, but I was finally on my own and I was extremely excited but
very nervous as well. Again, I had to make new friends and adapt to a new
environment. I must admit that a shy girl like me was overwhelmed with the
party and wild life in Long Beach but I managed and accepted the fact that I
had to learn step by step "grow up." I enjoyed college so much more than high
school. It was an interesting experience but I soon found my true love. It was
Johnny who had helped me go thru difficult times and through thick n thin. He has
always been my inspiration, my hero and my best friend. Today, I am very proud
of my accomplishments and I am working very hard to get where I want to be. My
main goal is to stay 4.0 GPA and perfect attendence for as long as I can go.
These past few years and prior, I've been a pretty busy girl. I've been working very hard going full time while going to school
part time and try to study my butt off to get good grades. I know in the long run my hard work will pay off! I hope to
attain my Doctor degree in Physical Therapy in about 4-5 years from now. I'm taking it slow and work extrememly hard to save money to open
my own pratice/clinic someday. I love my job and I
enjoy every minute of it and I wouldn't change my job for anything in the world.
I have a passion for Physical Therapy since I was really young and this is a dream come
true for me. I have never thought about pursuing my dream up until my friends
and family push me and give it a try. I'm glad that I did.
To this day, I am proud of the person I have become. I've grown to
become a very vibrant, passionate, and tender-loving young lady. I am a very
considerate person and I even watch over the well being of others. I've gone
through numerous impediments and conquered some of them. Yet, still I'm on the
road to my impending destiny. Every experience I encounter in life, I learn
lessons that make me a wiser and better person. I'm pretty optimistic on my
perspective on life and always hope for the best through every challenging
course. Nowadays, I think about my future every so often but I take everything
one step at a time to reach for my goals. I am young and eager with great hopes
and aspirations. I have a long road ahead of me, with still, a lot to learn.
