On June 19, families will celebrate a wonderful holiday called “Father's Day." I’m lucky enough to have one unique man to call my dad. He’s the sweetest and funniest guy, according to those who have met him. But to me, he’s just your ordinary dad who has his once-in-a-while terrible dad joke and I attempt to laugh while looking at my sister wondering what just happened.
But there’s more to him than just his terrible dad jokes and his cheerful personality. His background and history inspire me to do more in my life and pay him back for all the hard work he did for my family and me. The reason I’m able to do this today -- write articles and live a wonderful life -- is all because of the sacrifices he has made to give me everything I have.
His story starts in Vietnam, in a city called Hà Tiên. He was the second youngest out of 10 siblings. It’s crazy thinking about how many people he has in his family. But unlike how I grew up, with fun and games, he grew up running and hiding, with the addition of devastating sounds of airplanes and bomb explosions; he grew up during the Vietnam War. I had the chance to grow up with laughter and smiles, while he grew up with running and cries.
And the story doesn’t stop there. His oldest brother was part of the army for Vietnam. One night, he was called into his station and as his siblings had asked him to not go, he responded with, “I want to be accountable for my responsibilities." If he was assigned to night watch his station, he must do it and not let down his fellow soldiers. That same night, a bomb had been dropped at that station, and his brother and his brother's fellow soldiers had passed away. From the stories, my uncle seemed like a very interesting and fun person to get to know.
Years later, the war had ended and communism had taken over Vietnam. They lived under constant fear of punishment and/or imprisonment for doing or saying things which the government deemed against the state. They were indoctrinated with communist philosophy and, unlike in America, they couldn’t freely move or visit another city. For instance, we would have to report to the local government if we were visiting a friend or relative. Therefore, many people tried to escape Vietnam, risking imprisonment if they got caught, or possibly losing their lives at sea. But he and his brother risked it and decided to do whatever they could to escape.
In the middle of the night, he and his older brother left for America. They escaped on a small fishing boat with other people, and the next morning boarded another cramped ship that had 54 people. With no safety equipment, they struggled with a broken engine, and also ran into pirates on the way to finding land. Almost after a week, they landed in Thailand. There, he and other people stayed on an abandoned farm, where they were happy for the moment because they had food and a place to sleep.
The authorities gave them maggot-infested fish, but it was better than not having anything. Three months later, he and my uncle were finally able to go to America. They had almost no familiarity with the English language. They knew a few basics like introductions, but not enough for them to survive.
He was blessed with coming to America and he knew that if he wanted to be the one who his family could depend on, he needed to work hard. Even if it was difficult for him, he knew that he was doing it for his family. He remained motivated by reminding himself that he needed to be strong because of his deceased brother and because of his family. Nothing would stop him from reaching his goals.
English was a struggle, and he knew it was going to be hard, but he was motivated by the idea of a better future. Because his knowledge of English was limited, he initially did not want to go to school. He didn’t speak English, he didn’t have any friends, he was bullied because he was really the only Asian at the school. He was behind other kids in school, so he would stay up late, wake up early, sometimes as early as 4 a.m., and just continue studying by reading aloud so his pronunciation would be clearly heard and that his language skills could improve.
As time went by, hard work did pay off. He graduated from high school and was about to enter college. And in 1991, he had graduated with a degree in economics and business administration. He wanted to learn as much as he could, and it’s definitely apparent in his hard work.
He’s accomplished so much in his life. He started out as someone who had nothing and ended up running a company and becoming the CEO of a wholesale seafood company. He’s won awards, he was the keynote speaker at his alma mater, he’s been giving back to the community by being a member of countless boards.
He’s still continuing to work hard at what he does. He’s running a business, involving himself in the community, nagging at his own kids *points at self,* but also keeps his bubbly fun personality. People think of him as someone who’s easy to approach. And even if I didn’t get most of those traits, unlike my sister, who did, he’s still someone I can look up to and think to myself, “If he can do it, so can I."
And as we continue with our lives, he’ll always be the one person I can look up to at any time. He’s gone through so much. Everything he did has led up to these great moments. He’s the inspiration that I remind myself of every day; “If Dad can do it, so can you. And if anything is ever needed, he’s only a phone call away." Take the time now to call your dad, thank him, take him out for a drink, dinner, because you’ll never know what the future holds. Dads, thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything you do. I know for sure I don’t know what I’d do without mine. Thanks and Happy Father's Day.
