‘’I can’t choose where I was born but I can choose the way I live.
The way that we live paint our destiny.’’

My name is Vu Nguyen Thanh An and I am 21 years old. I was a child with visual impairment at birth though I have never thought of my world as bleak because, beside me, has always been a great mother.

I was 3 years old at the time. Because my illness couldn’t be cured and my father left so as not to see me anymore.

When I was 3 years old, my father had left and my (specify name of condition) could not be cured. My mother and I live on a small mezzanine in District 8 of HCMC. Although our life was hard and difficult, I was still very lucky to have my mother. She was so much of a parent that she could’ve been both my mother and father. She was the first to teach me how to adapt myself to life. I liked going to school. So, I thought that if I can’t how I was born I would get an education in order to change my future.

When receiving my admission notice, both my mom and I wept tears of joy. I said to my mom, “I’m so glad that I can go to University.” This ticket to school was what I wanted most and my mother’s dream. We felt like a new door had been opened in our life and prepared to welcome a new life. However, I didn’t expect that the tuition fee would be so hard for us to pay. I didn’t want to stop going to school and my mother sacrificed a lot to keep me going. She borrowed 2 months’ worth of pay for me to continue our dream. I told myself that I had to work hard to find a scholarship as it may be the only way for me to continue school.

The appearance of the Lawrence S. Ting Foundation was the hopeful light that our efforts and perseverance had guided us towards. Lawrence S. Ting Scholarship was the gift that let me to go to University and gave me encouragement to keep pushing.

I told my mom, “Mom, the sponsors at the Lawrence S. Ting Foundation are really good. They’re helping poor students in difficult circumstances. I have to study well so that I won’t let them down.”

Now I am going to school and exploring the new world offered to me. I am free to use technology to enhance my knowledge and broaden my horizons. The efforts I am making to do not just come from within me but as a result of the opportunity made possible by the Lawrence S. Ting Foundation and the steadfast support of my mother.