Hello 2013!

Last week, I ran away from Hanoi, the awful, dangerous, polluted and corrupted place in which I’ve lived for a couple of years, feeling exhausted. I had expected that my returning home could help me feel serene and refill my battery.

Reality proved me wrong. My week at home was somehow disgusting.

• I couldn’t read books and write journals without attracting curious eyes. My mom once glanced at my e-book library and criticized that my books were unrealistic, dreamful, and unnecessary. (Good God, in my whole life, I’ve never seen her grasp any book!)
• I turned down my parents’ offer to be a state official by the end of 2013. Predictably, my parents, 2 state workers, pissed off to no end. They haunted me hours after hours, insisting that the position would give me chances to have a prosperous, proud and privileged life. Ending some “small talks” with my parents, I packed up few clothes and run away to the beach, choosing to stay at grandparents’ house for a while, in search of peacefulness. Unfortunately, my grandma, aunts, uncles and cousins, had been affected by my parents, questioned my decision, made assumptions about my romantic relationship, condemned my solitude, persuaded me to accept the job, convinced me that as a girl, I shouldn’t be successful at business. They made me feel that I was a terrible, insane, and abnormal person. 
• My parents officially claimed that they disapproved my plan to study abroad. I was impressed by their confessions to my aunts later about the reasons why they hadn’t sent me abroad earlier.

Nevertheless, I have to accept that my trip was really pleasant.

• I could enjoy the chilly ocean breezes, the smell of ocean salt whirling in the winds, the sound of ocean waves, the fresh and delicious seafood, the slow, outdated yet very friendly lifestyle of Catba island’s people.
• I could be a fat and lazy cat, sleeping 10 hours per day, eating whatever I wanted, whenever I liked and wherever I allowed myself.
• Some of my relatives turned out to be my good allies and advisors. They gave me advices on career choosing, taught me how to set up an enterprise, told me their business stories. I told them that I want to become successful like one of my uncle, who travels every town, every city in Vietnam to look for business opportunities, and have a fulfill life like one of my aunt, whose main job is being an CEO of a small enterprises and the second job is running a grocery store where I have voluntarily worked every holiday.Honesty, I hope to inherit their entrepreneurial spirit. 

I ran away from Hanoi, an ugly place, searching for a refreshment. At the end of my trip, I developed love for that place. 

The morning I woke up after having arguments with my parents, I opened my mail box and found out that Mr.thay’s regular news bulletin had arrived. I drowned myself into reading it, smiling and knowing that my life would be ok.

Sunset on the beach is always beautiful, right? ;)