Vignettes

My Name

My name Is Yen.  My brother’s name is Duc. My other brother’s name is Liem.  And my parents’ names are Minh and Hanh.  These are all Vietnamese names, but my brother’s and my names are all America sounding.  My name sounds like Ian, my brother’s Duke, and Liam.  My parents picked this because they thought that it would be easier to fit in to the community, but I have always found it more difficult because I always want to correct people, but they think that they have already pronounced it correctly.  You see, when someone has a really Asian name, the teacher or anyone new would ask if they pronounced it correctly, but with yen, they pronounce it like the Japanese currency and move on.  Because of this, I do not feel comfortable correcting them because they didn’t ask.  They don’t, so I don’t correct them.  Sometimes I ask my parents why they named me such a weird name.  They told me that Yen and Ian sounds alike, and that it would make me fit in better.  Then I ask why they didn't just name me Bob or something.  Then I regret it.  My name represents who I am.  I can’t give up who I am.  My name is mine.  

Hair

Everybody in my family has different hair. My father has stiff hair, combed over but sticking up a little. And me, my hair is stubborn, it never changes its way without a fight. Duc's hair is very short and style-able. He can always move it to look right. Liem's hair is long and dry- it stays in place after styled.

My mother. She has soft, silky, shiny hair. Hey hair is like clay. Every morning, she blow dries it into place. The rest of the day, it stays in place. Her hair smells like oranges, when you walk into her room, you instantly get a rush of a sweet tangy smell. The smell of oranges. You could almost just taste it out of the air. My mother's have smells like oranges

            My father does the same hairdo every morning, whether he is working in the garden or going to an important meeting. He does a comb over, but it still sticks up.  He blow dries it every morning into place, and it automatically stays.  I’ve tried this with my hair before; it never worked. Why is my hair so different?

Tennis

            I love tennis.  If I could, I would play all day and never stop.  I started when I was about 8 years old, and kept with it all the way until I was 13.  I don’t really know why I stopped.  Maybe it was my lack of time to play, or maybe it was just my lack of skill, maybe both.  I would work really hard to improve, but right when i did, i would stop for a few weeks and lose my touch.  Soon, all of my tennis friends surpassed me greatly, and i was left in the dust.  I stopped playing in 8th grade, but it was only until i started at ASTI, that i realized i had quit tennis.  I always tell myself that i want to go back and play, but I don't have anyone to play with.  All my friends are too good, and no one else plays tennis that i know of.  As a freshman, I wanted to join the Encinal High School team, but then i took on some college classes and was afraid that if I did join, I would be overwhelmed with work.  Basically, I love tennis, and I would start playing again, but I just don't have the time and will power to start up again.  Maybe in the summer, I tell myself. Maybe

PWR

            As a freshman, i attended a Interact retreat called the President’s Winter retreat or PWR(power).  In different workshops, i learned many things.  I learned how to lead a club, how to relieve stress, how to move on, and how to speech publicly.  All of these are important skills, but really, the two most important things i took from that retreat were confidence and motivation.  When i went there, I only knew a few people, a couple from my school, and my brother.  We played ice breaker games, and during that time, i was very timid, and didn't talk to anyone.  Finally, on ice breaker did it for me.  We went around in a circle and introduced ourselves to one another.  This was the one where i learned to be confident, and talk to strangers and peers.  Before that, i didn't know how to approach others and always kept to myself, but from that, i learned that people are nice.  I learned to approach and start a conversation with the other person as a peer.  I had the confidence to do so, and it helped out a lot in my life.
            Also, during that retreat, I saw many people that opened my eyes to reality.  I always thought that i was one of the most dedicated people to interact, but during that retreat, i looked around and saw that most people were even more motivated to do well in their club than me.  that opened my eyes to the reality that I wasn’t the greatest.  From that, I took that I should step up and become a leader.  I started planning events and speaking out my ideas to raise more money.  I would say that from the two days i spent at PWR, I learned more of how to be a good leader than I ever did in my whole life.

Architecture

            My dad is an architect, a very good one too.  He has and eye for details and the small things that most others don't have.  He redesigned our house and made it so user friendly, I feel as though the house is inside my head.  The house works for us, all the light switches were in the right places, light was bright but not blinding, the house was energy efficient, and the heating system is far superior than your average house.  Living in such a beautiful home and with the creator has opened up my eyes to how beautiful and useful good architecture and design could be.  Since about a year ago, i have decided I wanted to become an architect.
            Also, growing up, I always heard that we should recycle and be conscious of our waste and energy in order to save our planet.  I have really believed in this stuff since i was young, and I want to bring it into my professional life.  So therefore, I have decided to combine my two loves: the planet and buildings.  I want to major in Architecture and Minor in Environmental studies.  This way, I could combine the two and create beautiful houses while incorporating green technology.  This is what I know I will love doing my whole life.  I have my mind set on this goal, and I plan on making it happen