I started my university first-year at 20

In 2018, I took a university entrance exam with three main subjects: Math, Literature and English. Luckily, I passed the test with a score of 20.68/30 and was accepted into a university in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

When getting the acceptance letter from the university, I'm delighted. But deep down inside me, I was not ready to keep studying after twelve years of continuously studying from kindergarten, primary school, and secondary school, to high school.

After two weeks of entering the new place, introduced myself to classmates who came from different provinces in Vietnam, I was?determined to drop out of university and spend one year studying SAT and English to have an opportunity to study in America. Vietnamese students often call this?'the Dream of America'.

But as you might know, I couldn't reach that dream. I wasted the first year of university and had to start my journey from scratch. It's not easy since I was then a sensitive girl and introvert. I looked down on myself and immersed myself in unhealthy thoughts that I'm not good enough.

Then, I found University of the People, an online American university. Because the university has only four majors, including Business Administration, Computer Science, Health Science, and Education, so I enrolled in Health Science, which I found a good fit for me.

My first year again started at the start of January 2020. It was when I turned 20. There were a few times in this journey when I failed at courses and studied those courses again. There were several times I could not study two courses in one term since professional life got busy. And there were times I thought I couldn't complete my Bachelor's Degree.

You know what, I'm on the way to finish this journey. I will graduate in May next year. I see how hard I have worked until now. And I love myself and appreciate the efforts that I have made. I accepted that my life was different from my friend's life. I am different from them. unless I give up, I will make my life blossom one day.

And I want to give these words to you:

Keep chasing your dream, don't give up when life challenges you since you have a different path from others. Don't try to be the fastest or live a life based on societal expectations. Live a life that you wish. Because at least, you are the only one who lives your life

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Wish you a new blessed Monday and a great week ahead!

Nhi Tran