Khanh

Ever since I was born, I’ve always been personally interested in pursuing a higher education, and one day being at the frontier of science, and giving back to my parents for all that they’ve done for me. However, at a very young age, I realized that my opportunities were extremely limited, given the fact that education is not a right in my home country of Vietnam, my parents had to work very hard to support my sister through her education, and it was shaky whether or not I’ll be able to pursue any form of meaningful schooling with the financial burden that it would put on my family, and the realization of what that meant for my dreams was crushing, but despite our financial circumstances, my parents still put into school.

At first, I was elated to be able to chase my passion, but the high quickly died down as I saw what putting me into school had done to my parents, and although I was not mature enough to really understand the nuances of what was going on, I could feel their stress just from their gestures, and how they carried themselves, but in spite of all that, they never said anything or complained, quite the opposite, they encouraged me to do my very best in school to one day find the freedom that would set me free from ever having strenuous work that they have to do in order to provide for me. The months following my enrollment into school, my family situation was rather grim looking, but that would all come to a head, when we received news that our family had been sponsored to move to the United States, our lucky break, was what we thought, how sorely mistaken we were.

After moving to the United States, my parents were set up with an apartment and job with the help of some family members that had moved here earlier, and I was able to enroll into school for free. Everything finally seemed to be going right, but things are never what they seem, this place was foreign to us, the language, the culture, the customs and norms, everything was new, which seemed to weigh heavily on everyone. My parents and sister seemed to miss the culture and norms of Vietnam, and for years it seemed like they were in a state of perpetual homesickness. In my case, I was a fish out of water, I didn’t speak the language of the land, I didn’t know anyone, nor be able to connect or relate to anyone for my first few years given the huge language, and customs barrier, however nearing the end of elementary school, I was fortunate enough to find myself a group of friends that were similar to me, and that I could connect to, and for the first time in my decade of living, I was apart of something, I was content, and I felt welcomed.

Following the end of elementary school everything came crashing down, as all my friends moved to different schools, and once again I was in a new place, surrounded by new people, all by myself. I had spent my first year in middle school seeking company, a good circle of friends to surround myself with, and now armed with the experience of making connections and cultivating relationships from elementary school, it was not long before I found a place where I was welcomed, with people who I felt comfortable around and whose company I enjoyed and vice versa, all before it came crumbling down with the beginning of the pandemic, being locked away in my house for the next 2 years, completely isolated from my friends. During this time, things had felt hopeless, it seemed like no matter where I was, or what I was doing, the universe was out to get me, and that exact thought process had plagued me. I felt empty, and had no motivation to do anything during this time, which led to a fundamental change in me, I had begun to see myself differently, I began to blame myself for all these things that were going on, I was convinced that it was all my fault that these things happened, and that something was wrong with me, and my mental health suffered drastically as a result, I didn’t eat, I didn’t exercise, I was unmotivated, and reluctant to do anything during this time, which only served to further exacerbate the issues.

I had developed severe body image issues during time as a result of my unwillingness to do anything to change it, and the body dysmorphia only led to me further isolating myself, and it wasn’t until nearing the end of the pandemic where it finally hit me that I can’t spend the rest of my life like this. Following the end of the quarantine, I was entering my freshman year of high school, and now with access to public facilities again, I began my journey to undo all of the damage that my body dysmorphia had caused me, and in doing so I fell in love with the gym, physical exercise, and just the outdoors in general.

Within my freshmen year, I was able to rebound out of my body dysmorphia, and borderline anorexia, and got back to a healthy weight. Going into my sophomore year, I discovered my love for the outdoors, alongside with just how fortunate I was to have the weather here in San Diego, and with this newfound passion and appreciation for the outdoors, I joined my school’s Outdoor Adventure club, and got the opportunity to go out to experience all these activities, such as paddleboarding, surfing, and my favorites, rock climbing, and kayaking.

At the start of junior year, I escalated my passion for the outdoors by running for and being elected as President of the Hoover Outdoor Outreach Club. So far as club president, my duties have been lax, but rather fulfilling, as I am in charge of holding discussions during our weekly meetings, in which we outline what kind of trips people want, take votes, and then discuss the details of selected trips. Around half way through my junior year, I was introduced to the Aspen Challenge by my APUSH teacher, Ms. Towers, wherein the entire district participates in picking and creating a solution for 1 of 5 issued challenges that pertain to the community, and one of those challenges this year was about creating a roadmap to aid students in finding mental health resources. Once our team picked the challenge, I decided to take it upon myself to develop and design the website despite my lack of prior experience, I believed that this was a good opportunity to not only help those in my community that might be going through the same struggles I went through, but to also get out of my comfort zone and learn something new. Nearing the day of the product showcase, we launched our website to the whole school in front of hundreds of students, and within that same week, we had garnered over 10,000 site sessions, and despite not winning one of the 3 grand prizes at the showcase, the whole process was still very much worth doing, and very fulfilling to know that I had a hand in helping so many people in their mental health struggles while learning a new skill that I hope I’ll be able to make use of in my upcoming IT internship.

Moving forward, I intend to go to college, and pursue a major and career in chemical or computer engineering, and I hope with the help of A Bridge for Kids, I am able to gain access to the resources necessary to make this transition from high school to college a smooth one, specifically the financial sponsorships, and college application assistance. With the financial assistance from A Bridge for Kids, I intend to firstly buy any textbooks or other necessary study materials, and secondly buy an iPad to take notes on during college lectures, and with any remaining money, purchase any other supplementary resources, such as courses, or additional optional study materials. I hope that through this A Bridge for Kids, I am able to realize my dreams, and build a future for myself. Lastly I would like to express my gratitude to A Bridge for Kids allowing me to have such an amazing opportunity.