Ms.

Thu Nguyen
1 UNF Drive, Jacksonville FL, 32224
An anonymous person once said, Tension is the mirror of our past. Tension stays with us, reflects what
we learned in the past, and helps us understand and grow in the future. Without a past, there would not be a
future, just like a person cannot distinguish between whats right and wrong until encountering consequences
of ones actions. People have different tensions due to different walks of life, but in the end tension mold us
into the people we are today. Even shoes have size, so we as human have different sizes of struggles and
mistakes that perfectly fit our dimensions of personality that ultimately amplify our uniqueness.
I moved to Florida in 2005 with my family in hopes of alleviating my parents stress of raising a family
of six. The challenge of learning a new language and adapting to an advanced culture overwhelmed me with
fear, and that caused me to fall into temptations at school and feel embarrassed of my background. To be
honest, I was embarrassed, shocked and ashamed to admit that I used to be someone who fell into the traps of
bullying and stereotyping, to the point where I did not even realize that it controlled my life.
My first day of fourth grade was the day that I had most anticipated after arriving in the United States,
but it became the day that took my life in the opposite direction. I was an ordinary nine-year-old Vietnamese
girl, entering a school without any knowledge of English and without friends. I was sitting alone, hoping that
someone would come and invite me into their social group. It did not take long for people to notice my
existence in the classroom. At first, one student asked, Are you Chinese? and Is your name Number Two?
I heard the remarks, Stupid! and Ugly! Then the whole group chanted Chink chong ling long! with
mocking laughter. It did not hurt that much at the time because I did not understand exactly what they said, but
inside, I kept wondering what their motives could be. Surprisingly, these insults were the first words I learned
in English.
Everything changed one day about five years ago when I saw how hard my mother worked at her job. In
front of my eyes was a petite, skinny, forty-three-year-old woman who struggled to speak English while trying
desperately to scrub the dead skin off her customers feet, even though her arthritic hands were weak and in
pain. My mothers face was red and full of embarrassment whenever her boss scolded her for any customer
complaints. She did not even try to defend herself, but instead apologized repeatedly with the phrase, Im
sorry, like a child begging for forgiveness. I started to cry when I saw tears in her eyes as she walked back
quietly to continue her work, thinking that she had to endure all these hardships in order to provide for her four
kids. I witnessed the love of God upon myself in the moment of despair like never before. With the tests of
patient, character, and faith I learned to look at my obstacles differently. From that day forward, I made a
commitment to not let peer pressure change who I really am. I took criticisms as advice and judgment as
friendly remainders. Most importantly, I no longer hate those that bullied me, but pray that one day their lives
can be changed like mine.
The tension that I experienced was a road map in disguise, a calling that echoed in the mist of my
confusion, as I struggled to search for a career that fit my desire of helping families of low incomes, who are
struggling to survive through trials of hopelessness, like us. I hope to be able to help teenagers overcome the
struggle of bullying by using the Trans-Theoretical Model Stages of Change (TTM). Public health gives me
the knowledge that I need to assess needs through collecting information from interviews and focus groups,
plan health interventions using precede proceed, MAPP, and CDC synergy models, implement health
programs, and evaluate the effectiveness of health strategies. With exposure to a full range of health
dimensions such as, mental, emotional, physical, spiritual, intellectual, environmental and occupational, I
believe that public health not only opens doors for a meaningful career, but also trains me to become a life. I
want to focus on guiding children in making behavioral and decision changes that aim to modify risky health
habits, as well as emphasizing critical thinking and lifelong learning. A melody from Greatest Love of All said
I believe the children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way. Show them all the beauty
they possess inside. Let the childrens laughter remind us how we used to be, help paraphrased my goals.
Through public health, I plan to apply my experience and knowledge when working with Peace Corp or
Doctors without Borders in the future, traveling to under-developed countries, where team work can create
world peace and friendship in the mist of wars and diseases. I believe that my transition from Public health to
one day becoming a Physician Assistant was predestined. A career that can helps people where ever I go, as
well as reducing my parents financial struggles. My personal experiences can view as ordain, but my hope is
that by sharing about the most realistic and simple everyday situations and obstacles would hopefully rekindle
others memories of their past experiences where they might have encountered the same problem as I have. If I
failed, if I succeed, at least I'll live as I believed.