I was born into a communist family.

I cried when I learned that the first communist leader of Vietnam,

Ho Chi Minh, had died. I was 6 years old. I was a communist. But the times, they are a changing. I
changed. I grew up loving religion. I grew up basked in western philosophy and capitalism. Yet, Im still
that communist child. I want equality and education for everyone, so they can be whom they believe.
Im a religious communist. Im a capitalist egalitarian. My unique background is my thirst for a religious
understanding of the world and my desire to help other people reach their own understanding through
education. My parents said I was a paradox. I am.
When I was 9 years old, my grandfather gave me a comic bible. I devoured it. To me, it was magical. The
stories of heroes and triumph resonated with me. I cant articulate how content I was reading the
literature of 2000 years old. Its hope, a root, an answer from ancient cultures; but my parents took the
bible away and said it would poison my mind with capitalist ideas and make me forget who I am, a
communist.
I believed them.
For a while, I disdained religion. For a while, I was no different than the other kids in my neighborhood,
chanting admiring rhymes of the communist party: How great it was. How it saved us from the evil
America. I joined my friends making fun of the Christian kids in my school, for their belief, for their faith;
but there was still a yearning inside me for something deeper than blind loyalty to a political party. I
didnt care about politics. I cared about wisdom. I want to know why Im here, is there a reason for all
the hungers and sufferings in the world? Does it make sense for me to go to the dentist if Im going to
die one day anyway?
Then, I read A peoples history of the United States- the history of the US through the eyes of the
people. Some criticized it as a socialist book for glorifying the view of the mass. Yet I saw it as the proof
that you dont need to have just one model of thought. You dont have to be just a communist or a
capitalist, a religious or secular individual. As long as you understand and respect the other persons
point of view, you have the freedom to follow your own road. I received that freedom through
knowledge. Thats why I want to teach people. Religion gives us hope. Knowledge gives us freedom, the
freedom to choose hope. I learned about A peoples history of the United States from the internet,
and through that channel I want to create an educational platform to change the world. Languages open
up different culture, thats why I teach English. Science opens up critical thinking, thats why I volunteer
to teach math for free to poor children. I want to be a free teacher for everyone, teaching the
Pythagorean Theorem, teaching the beauty of a foreign language, teaching the marvel of a foreign
planet like Mars.
My grandfather used to tell me stories of glorious Vietnamese warfare against America, but I wanted to
listen to the American kids side of the story, and maybe they should listen to mine. Maybe then there
would be peace. Wisdom of the mass, democracy, those are my values, which are how I juggle
contradicting ideas in my mind, between religion and science, between capitalism and communism. By
learning, by discovering, by opening up, one would see that the world is not made of extremities, but
balances between spectrums.

I always remember my life as a progression of belief. First, I believe in communism. Then I fall for
religion. Finally, I cooperate in my mind the ideas of East and West, of capitalism and socialism, of
freedom and security, of hope and force. Sometimes I wonder, am I betraying my family by distancing
myself from the blind belief in communism? Then I realize, no, Im not. In fact, Im more a communist
than I ever am, but Im a modern communist, who respects religion and capitalism. Im a western
communist, who wants freedom of education for all while striving for hope and efficiency. A curiosity for
an understanding of the world, a balance between believes that seem contradictory that is my unique
background. That is why I want a college education, to create an education platform help people
discover that perfect balance in their believes. And God said, Let there be light, and there was light.
The light of our generation is not just capitalism, religion, or communism. The light is education, and
through education, we will discover ourselves. Just as I discovered that, I was a communist kid who
loved religion and education.
If my grandfather was alive today, Im sure he would understand why Im no longer a pure Maoist
communist, and then maybe we could sit down one more time over a cup of tea, discussing the
changing tides of the world, and be content over our differences. Its fine to change from who you were
born as. Its fine to be who you are. With my passion for software engineering and education, as well as
a belief in an open, balanced world, I believe a bachelor education would help me shape the world into a
better place.