As the son of two Vietnam War refugees, I’ve often considered that I was one civil conflict away from a drastically different life. Because of that ripple, sometime in the 80s, my dad walked into my mom’s family’s restaurant. A hole-in-the-wall in downtown Atlanta affectionally called Chả Giò or Egg Roll.
After I was born, the Air Force stationed my dad in Hawaii. And I don’t remember much, but I remember he would strap me to a child carrier on his bike and we’d bring a loaf of bread to this pier. Piece by piece, we’d feed the fish and shoot the breeze like toddlers and grown men do. One day, I noticed the bigger the piece, the more fish, so the next time, I tossed in the entire loaf, bag included. Sometimes, in advertising and fish-feeding, you just have to get to the point.
After Hawaii, my family moved to Fairfax, Virginia, the only place I’ve lived with seasons, and then San Antonio, Texas, where my dad realized he would never be Maverick and retired. By then, I was nine, getting straight As, taking piano lessons, and being a model Asian son.
Truthfully, middle school is a time I try to forget, but it’s worth mentioning that after a brief amateur longboarding career, face met pavement and my career was shattered along with my front teeth. Four root canals later, I can bite ice cream and usually have the icebreaker’s most interesting fun fact.
In high school, I played starting left bench for the soccer team and achieved immortality with my second proudest achievement, Best Dressed: Class of 2016. And after four years of being slightly cool, I was denied, accepted, denied, and after much begging, accepted again to the University of Texas at Austin. I now check my emails frequently.
At UT, after many other things, I thought about studying marketing. But after not making the cut, I picked advertising which news to me, was not the same. Now here I am, simultaneously looking forward to the future and reminiscing on four years that went by way too fast. I owe much of my college experience to being a creative. My classmates are my closest friends. My mentors had the only office hours I ever went to. And it’s by far my proudest achievement. I’ve recently rewritten this last part because these days, you can usually find me at home, at home, and well, at home. But the sentiment remains. Don’t be shy, I love to meet new people, thanks for making it to the end, and stay safe out there. :)
