Sharing from Vietnam: I Am The Author of My Own Story
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9Qu5K2vd4w
Career Week is getting close, and my brain is all over the places with lists of things to be completed. That, however, did not stop me from enjoying the joyful moments of the preparation process including seeing the first inspirational, fun, and energetic promotion campaign by the Business Club members, laughing with co-workers who formed the assembly lines of putting invitation letters to parents together, eating green mango, being teased by students who observed my forgetfulness these days, and many other things.
Every time I crossed the big board on which written this Career Week's motto, 'I am the author of my own story,' I could almost touch the inner emotional surge running through my body. I remember the phrase one of my college professors shared a long time ago, 'Why spend so much time watching others' lives on TV, why not spend that time living your live and creating your own story!' And that... is exactly what I would like my students to do everyday: write their own story and not be afraid of making mistakes.
I consider myself the luckiest person on this planet for having the opportunity to make my living carrying out my passion everyday. Sharing with my students the doubtful moments; accompanying part of their unknown journey; witnessing their broad smiles in happy moments; saying farewell and wishing them good luck. Every single step of my career life is full of inspiration and love. And I am thankful to everyone that has enabled me to get to where I am now.
Natasha Bedingfield's voice singing 'Unwritten' echoes in my head while I am writing these lines. Outside the big glass windows is the beautiful green color of the flamboyant trees, palm trees, and a clear blue sky. I want to sing to the world, 'I love my life. Yes, I do very much.'
August 3, 2011
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Sharing from Vietnam - The Beauty of Self-Confrontation
For the past three weeks, I have observed myself carefully from a third person perspective. Every time I came across a negative emotion, I paused and asked myself, 'Why am I feeling this way?' The answers were various on the surface, but at the end it was the same, "It's all about attachment." I attached myself to the image of being highly competent; therefore, I felt defensive when my colleagues gave me feedback to improve my practice. I attached myself to the image of a person with two masters degrees, so I felt ashamed when I made a mistake that I thought a master graduate should not make. I attached myself to the identity of a confident, independent, strong-minded Vietnamese American woman, which meant I felt embarrassed when I did not know how to elegantly behave in a social environment.
Attachment to an identity blocked me from listening to the constructive message, and as a result I furiously tried to defend my position instead of improving myself. It was not easy to face with the fear deep inside my heart, the fear of not being perfect, good enough, and therefore not lovable or respectable in others' eyes.
Constant reflection, however, helped me to pause, observe myself, and courageously carry on internal conversation. It was much easier to ignore the discomfort of self-confrontation, went on living the way I have always done, so I was thankful to my spiritual mentors who had brought me to this stage of development.
It has been such a painful journey, to reflect, confront, and discover more about who I am. Sometimes the pain is almost unbearable, yet the serene moments that followed were indescribable. I pray that I continue to have the needed wisdom and inner strength to continue this challenging journey. I hope one day the new habits are formed, and the weak, vulnerable, authentic self inside me can slowly emerge and become one with my other self.
May 12, 2011
Attachment to an identity blocked me from listening to the constructive message, and as a result I furiously tried to defend my position instead of improving myself. It was not easy to face with the fear deep inside my heart, the fear of not being perfect, good enough, and therefore not lovable or respectable in others' eyes.
Constant reflection, however, helped me to pause, observe myself, and courageously carry on internal conversation. It was much easier to ignore the discomfort of self-confrontation, went on living the way I have always done, so I was thankful to my spiritual mentors who had brought me to this stage of development.
It has been such a painful journey, to reflect, confront, and discover more about who I am. Sometimes the pain is almost unbearable, yet the serene moments that followed were indescribable. I pray that I continue to have the needed wisdom and inner strength to continue this challenging journey. I hope one day the new habits are formed, and the weak, vulnerable, authentic self inside me can slowly emerge and become one with my other self.
May 12, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Better Than First Love
To all RMIT students, especially V.T.M with my sincere appreciation for your gifts.
On Monday morning, toward the end of my class, a group of students knocked on the door and asked to come in. I was surprised by their intrusion when they introduced themselves as the Music Club members who were requested bye one student to deliver me the gifts for the Teacher's Day, which will be on Saturday of November 20th. The gifts included flowers and life performance of the song 'You Raised Me Up' right in the classroom!
I closed my eyes to listen to their beautiful voices and the lovely acoustic guitar sound. Tears rose up in my throat, and I leaned against the whiteboard to remain standing. When the song ended, I exclaimed, 'My God, this is even better than my first love,' which caused the whole class to abrupt into laughter. It took me a while to resume my memory and returned to the lesson of the day. This is one of the moments that I want to freeze and store in a special corner of my brain for future's soul sustaining.
From very young age, I have witnessed the love and respect that my parents' former students showed toward them. It often amazed me how my parents remembered most of their students' names despite the facts that they had not been in touch for years. Their students, some of whom were only five or six years younger than parents were, always bowed before them and treated them with extreme respect. This was probably one of the reasons why I was motivated to become a teacher and then a counselor after so many years working in the other careers.
My father did not advise me much on how to become a good educator. His only suggestion was, 'Make sure you never stop learning. Prepare your lesson with utmost care, and always come up with ideas to make your lectures interesting.' I , however, learned from my parents' live models to treat my students with great respect, love them for who they are, and breathe passion into my lectures.
After eighteen months working in RMIT Vietnam, my educator's dream has been continuously reinforced by my students' love and respect. I know I have traveled the right road when I could see hope and yearning for new knowledge in their smiles and eyes every day. November 20th is the Vietnam's Teacher's Day, yet I would like to send my gratitude to all my students, who taught me the lessons of innovation, enlightenment, and youthful attitude.
November 16th, 2010
Saigon, Vietnam
On Monday morning, toward the end of my class, a group of students knocked on the door and asked to come in. I was surprised by their intrusion when they introduced themselves as the Music Club members who were requested bye one student to deliver me the gifts for the Teacher's Day, which will be on Saturday of November 20th. The gifts included flowers and life performance of the song 'You Raised Me Up' right in the classroom!
I closed my eyes to listen to their beautiful voices and the lovely acoustic guitar sound. Tears rose up in my throat, and I leaned against the whiteboard to remain standing. When the song ended, I exclaimed, 'My God, this is even better than my first love,' which caused the whole class to abrupt into laughter. It took me a while to resume my memory and returned to the lesson of the day. This is one of the moments that I want to freeze and store in a special corner of my brain for future's soul sustaining.
From very young age, I have witnessed the love and respect that my parents' former students showed toward them. It often amazed me how my parents remembered most of their students' names despite the facts that they had not been in touch for years. Their students, some of whom were only five or six years younger than parents were, always bowed before them and treated them with extreme respect. This was probably one of the reasons why I was motivated to become a teacher and then a counselor after so many years working in the other careers.
My father did not advise me much on how to become a good educator. His only suggestion was, 'Make sure you never stop learning. Prepare your lesson with utmost care, and always come up with ideas to make your lectures interesting.' I , however, learned from my parents' live models to treat my students with great respect, love them for who they are, and breathe passion into my lectures.
After eighteen months working in RMIT Vietnam, my educator's dream has been continuously reinforced by my students' love and respect. I know I have traveled the right road when I could see hope and yearning for new knowledge in their smiles and eyes every day. November 20th is the Vietnam's Teacher's Day, yet I would like to send my gratitude to all my students, who taught me the lessons of innovation, enlightenment, and youthful attitude.
November 16th, 2010
Saigon, Vietnam
Monday, January 10, 2011
Sharing from Vietnam: The 35th Year!
Ten years ago I celebrated my 25th birthday in Taipei, Taiwan, and thought that was the best year in my life. Ten years later I am in Vietnam waiting for my 35th birthday to arrive in several hours, and decide that this will be the best one so far. Fiona, my colleague in RMIT Vietnam said, 'Oh, wait until you get to 40. THAT is the best.' Well, I trust Fiona, so it seems like aging is a fun process after all.
The year that I spent in Taiwan was the first period in life when I lived away from all my loved ones and had the opportunity to deeply reflect on life's various areas, including career choice, friendship, family, and the meaning of being Vietnamese American. That year marked an important turning point in my identity formation and career development, which enabled me to eventually discovered my career call. This past year has also been full of reflection in another important aspect of life, relationship and its impact on me. And it seems like my 35th birthday marks another important turning point in self-actualization when I finally discover the answer to my painful search for the meaning of love.
At the door of age 35, I serenely observe the woman I have become and feel so proud of her. It is a precious feeling that I make my own living, pay my rent, manage my household, help support others' financial needs, raise my son, and most of the time be aware of my decision making. I like the fact that I like my appearance, make no attempt to alter it, work to keep myself in shape for my own happiness, and hold no envy toward other beautiful women. I do not possess many materials in life and enjoy the freedom from that lifestyle. Matters that used to give me pain no longer bother me. Life becomes much simpler, for I learn how to use values as my guidance. I focus on my strength for self-development, and confidently ask for help from others in area of weaknesses. I appreciate my colleagues for who they are, and not shy of showing my love and care for those around me. Life is so beautiful when I know who I am, why I am who I am, and live truthfully to that person.
Birthday has always been an important event in our family's tradition. Regardless of our financial difficulty in the old days, Mom always managed to have some specialty took place in our birthday, either a chicken drumstick for the birthday boy/girl at dinner time, or a special poem that she specifically created for us. Therefore, birthday is the time when I miss my family members the most. Over the years, I knew that no matter what happened, my parents, brothers, and sisters would always remember my birthday, and a simple dinner for celebration with the kids' laughter are the best gifts I could receive.
This year Ian, my little bear, promised to blow me a candle and becomes one year older with me. When I shared, 'Ian, Mommy is going to be 35 tomorrow,' he seriously whispered in my ears, 'Mommy, I will be four tomorrow too.' In short, happy birthday to me, and I wish that I could stay on earth at least another 35 years to share with you the joy of living.
Last but not least, thank you for your presence in my life.
Saigon, Vietnam.
January 5th, 2011
The year that I spent in Taiwan was the first period in life when I lived away from all my loved ones and had the opportunity to deeply reflect on life's various areas, including career choice, friendship, family, and the meaning of being Vietnamese American. That year marked an important turning point in my identity formation and career development, which enabled me to eventually discovered my career call. This past year has also been full of reflection in another important aspect of life, relationship and its impact on me. And it seems like my 35th birthday marks another important turning point in self-actualization when I finally discover the answer to my painful search for the meaning of love.
At the door of age 35, I serenely observe the woman I have become and feel so proud of her. It is a precious feeling that I make my own living, pay my rent, manage my household, help support others' financial needs, raise my son, and most of the time be aware of my decision making. I like the fact that I like my appearance, make no attempt to alter it, work to keep myself in shape for my own happiness, and hold no envy toward other beautiful women. I do not possess many materials in life and enjoy the freedom from that lifestyle. Matters that used to give me pain no longer bother me. Life becomes much simpler, for I learn how to use values as my guidance. I focus on my strength for self-development, and confidently ask for help from others in area of weaknesses. I appreciate my colleagues for who they are, and not shy of showing my love and care for those around me. Life is so beautiful when I know who I am, why I am who I am, and live truthfully to that person.
Birthday has always been an important event in our family's tradition. Regardless of our financial difficulty in the old days, Mom always managed to have some specialty took place in our birthday, either a chicken drumstick for the birthday boy/girl at dinner time, or a special poem that she specifically created for us. Therefore, birthday is the time when I miss my family members the most. Over the years, I knew that no matter what happened, my parents, brothers, and sisters would always remember my birthday, and a simple dinner for celebration with the kids' laughter are the best gifts I could receive.
This year Ian, my little bear, promised to blow me a candle and becomes one year older with me. When I shared, 'Ian, Mommy is going to be 35 tomorrow,' he seriously whispered in my ears, 'Mommy, I will be four tomorrow too.' In short, happy birthday to me, and I wish that I could stay on earth at least another 35 years to share with you the joy of living.
Last but not least, thank you for your presence in my life.
Saigon, Vietnam.
January 5th, 2011
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)