For Linh

Linh and I have been friends since high school, so this year marked our 5 years. We never celebrate birthdays or anniversaries, and this post just came out of the blue. I guess this represents somehow the characteristics of our friendship.

2021 has been an amazing year for me, having not one but lots of life-changing experiences. I’m blessed that my hard work pays off, my path is aligned with nature’s plan so I received lots of luck to get to this point. One such indispensable kind of fortune is to have Linh by my side not for once, but every up and down moment. Not for one year, but many years.

Linh was with me since the first tough moment in high school, when I traveled over 50km away from home to study in a strange city, where I barely know anyone, literally. Because of my arrogance (and differences), I got boycotted a bit by friends here (which is normal as part of puberty life, I guess). It’s 10-grader Linh who listened and recorded the video of me singing in the dorm, under a guitar background (that video’s still available somewhere) to prepare for a “handshake”, “personal re-branding” meeting in front of my classmates.

In high school, I had been well-known for not being fond of the rules, climbing too high, and failing so miserably. I loved reading philosophical books and enjoyed unfolding new dots — which I called “insights”, or “truths”, in my naive opinion. The downside of being “quite different” was that I did not feel like being understood among many, teachers, seniors, and peers. Linh always lend an ear to my stupid philosophical insights and did not do anything. Just that, I felt enough. Sometimes, we did have several opinions interactions, to figure out how in-depth and alike we were in thoughts than we thought of each other, but that’s rarely the case. Just that, I felt motivated to continue with my politics, sociology, ideology stuff, later turn them into actions that changed my life, and projects that make a difference (I guess).

I remembered the hardworking days when I study till mid-noon for the National English Olympiad, and Linh with a group of friends waiting for me and others to have a 15k vegan lunch, discuss our naive understanding about vegan and Buddism, about the world beyond us. It’s Linh who later introduced me to mindfulness, meditation, and the fragile relationships between us — people and the planet. It’s Linh who lived 15km away but woke up early to school so that we joined a 15 something km walk, caught the sunrise and the swan lake in Hung Yen City. Thanks to these peaceful moments among the hardworking hours, I was able to reflect and understand who I truly am, what I actually did, and what is truly essential beyond achievements. It’s the fresh food that we were able to eat for only 15k, the sunrise, and the swan lakes those past years. My life must be committed to protecting those moments.

I left high school with mixed feelings, with the scars that tireless competitions and failed projects left on my self-confidence, and half-hearted desires to realize my ambition. Linh skipped classes with me in front of teachers :) (sorry) so that I could write college admission essays, and help him practice speaking for the IELTS. Linh was about to be the first one in our province to enter an international university that I joined 1 year after. However, before that turning point, was one year of ups and downs. Without Linh, I could not make it to today.

It’s all started with self-confidence, I guess. You can have everything because of it, and without it, you might not have anything. Linh introduced my a good workplace to tutor IELTS so that I gain confidence in making ends meet for my dream (financially). Linh referred a friend to help me with my first apartment in Hanoi because I was kicked out of the house-renting race near Chua Lang. Many tireless nights, over 100K words written for essays I guess, and the Kinh Do bread moments where I could not have enough money to eat anymore, to get to the final scholarship. Guess who lend me the money for bread? Mostly Linh, Linh, and Hai. I was assured that “Courage does not always roar. Sometimes, it’s a quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “ I will try again tomorrow”. Linh was part of the support that help me gain that little confidence in tomorrow, there is still tomorrow to try, there is still tomorrow to give me chances. And now, I’m here.

Miracles do not happen because of my hard work, but many’s hard work — the few people who believe in me and my wildest dreams. Linh does not know very much about liberal arts education or entrepreneurship, I mean we do not have that much in common. Yet, he believed in me and in my hard work, and ran through the last mins to BUV office to submit my application, asked his counselor wholeheartedly if there were any slim chance I could get more financial aids to find ways, and I got that good news just mins away from the scholarship acceptance deadline to enroll at BUV. Because of the belief that Linh gave me, I tried to pass it on to every person I met. I tried to give them the encouragement and guidelines they need, as much as possible in my ability, to fulfill their dreams. No matter whether others believe in it or not, whether they believe in it or not, whether I doubt the possibility of that coming true, I prefer to stay foolish and help them take the initial steps. “It’s not what they do or achieve on the journey that matters so much. It’s who they become after they take that journey”. Thank you Linh for investing in me as a person, not for once but many.

I am fortunate enough to have Linh on my crew, express his sorrows at the university’s only business club that I later have the chances and luck to turn my solution into a regionally impactful, and hopefully long-lasting one. My startup comrade, my go-to for every ad-hoc and stupid problem that I do not know how to solve (we figured out together how to solve).

I am fortunate enough to witness Linh transforms into a confident guy who spreads his positivity and humility to other peers, who helps raise an abandoned kid so that I have a chance to give him books about Steve Jobs and courage — To Kill a Mockingbird. Linh is a leader not by holding a title at a club or school, but by guiding a child on how to ignore his hurtful past and be generous enough to work hard and make this world a better place.

I am fortunate enough to have Linh to share my past, that my parents are lovely factory workers turn low-income entrepreneurs, my village is a lovely village with humorous human beings, my brother is gay. It’s okay, Frankie. That’s the beauty of life.

I am fortunate enough to say, finally, that I do not have to be a big someone to make an impact, change lives, and inspire people. I can just be like my beloved friend, Linh. I will try to do so, but of course with my own capabilities and passion. I do not need to tolerate people who show some single-minded perspectives, disrespect me and my past.

This year marked our 20, and believe it or not, we’re just 20.

Let’s work hard for our beliefs, change lives, and inspire each other. Remember, we do not have to wait until sometimes to make each other’s lives, and this world a better place.

I hope that we can continue to be a reason for someone to believe in good people.

Yours,

Frankie