Autobiography
I could never imagine going back to school at the
age of 42. It was only five years ago when I decided to go back to school.
I did not really plan to go back to school but it just happened
that way. Actually, I was too scared to go back. The only people that really believed in
me were my children. They said, "Mom, you can go back. A lot of people go back."
So I took their advice and here I am writing about my life.
I was born in Hanoi, North Vietnam on October 1, 1952. Vietnam is a poor country and I
lived in the times of war and communism. Believe me, it was not a fun time. My child hood
was like any other child hood. I played with friends and went to school like any regular
kid. However, our country was in the middle of a war during the late 1960's and 70's.
Everything was falling apart and we wanted to leave Vietnam. My family consisted of 11
kids. My parents wanted us to have a better life, and America was the answer. I heard of
freedom and the right to live a normal life.
That was what we wanted as we arrived in America in 1975. I first
started odd jobs just to make some money. We were sponsored by an American family and
stayed with them in Pennsylvania. In time, we made enough money on our own to try to make
our own life. We moved to Virginia and I began Hairdressing school. In 1975, I had my
first child. We struggled on welfare and barely made ends meet.
Today, I have 3 healthy children and the house I always wanted. I
have worked so hard for the last 22 years to achieve what I have now. The only other goal
that I wanted to finish since I could not finish it when I was younger was to finish
college. I could not finish college before because I needed to work and could not afford
to go. My husband had to work long, hard hours and also go to school for himself. I never
thought I needed to go. Little did I know that I would be in class writing about my life!
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