Duong V

As a child growing up in Vietnam, Duong found that a large amount of his time was spent in the rice fields. However he was not alone in this rice field, he spent most of his time being bullied by the other children there. Duong did not give in to the constant bullying he stood up for himself day after day. Until finally one day he decided that he must stand up for himself in another fashion. He started a fight in which he got beat up. But he still did not give in to those who bullied him. So the next day he fought the bullies again and again until he was finally acknowledged. Persistence was one of Duong’s qualities as he was a child in which he still shows today.
Duong now spends his days in Richmond, Virginia fighting similar battles every day. A few examples that Duong gave me includes ones with school. As a senior this year he is fighting his way to the end of the year refusing to let his grades go down. As a result of his persistence he is now a student that will be attending VCU next year.
His struggle doesn’t stop with only his friends and school but also continues with his family. His fight with his family is one over personal wants and beliefs. For his nineteenth birthday he wanted a guitar. However the answer he kept on getting was a solid no. But after a lot of support and his everlasting persistence he was able to convince his family to get him a ukulele.
Duong’s persistence in life has gotten him many things and I feel that many people can learn from him. His lesson to people is that no matter what, you should never give up and if what you’re fighting for means that much you should never stop fighting for it.

Submitted by Anonymous

Persistence