Nga Nguyen (Eric)

ESL INTG 100

Second draft

The Appreciation

The war between Vietnam the Northern government and the US helped the Southern called The Vietnam War. It started in the 1950s and finally ended in 1975 when North and South Vietnam were reunited as one country. The war was devastating for people and the country, but on another hand, it also brought a few good things to my family. Especially, my family and I are an example. My family was affected by the Vietnam War and it caused my father’s ex-wife and all his children to flee to America and lose all the connections with my father. Since the day that they left for good, my father became a single man, and for years had been waiting a hope that the family reunification would happen. Then he met my mother, and the decision he made was to offer for me to have more opportunities and a better education.

The fleeing of my father’s ex-wife caused my father to become a single man. At first, he didn’t know that they were fleeing to the US until he met his children again. However, he just thought that because the fighting between the US and the Vietnam government made his ex-wife had to hide somewhere, and he thought that they would come back a few days later. However, they had indeed left for good. He had been waiting for months, and then for years because he was hoping that they would be back. Moreover, he said he knew that they were not dead because he had the feeling that they are somewhere but he just couldn’t find them. In addition, the reason his ex-wife had to flee was because the Vietnam government was taking over the Southern part of Vietnam. However, they would have just killed anyone that was against them while the war was happening. They would not send people to jail or anything so she had to escape to the US. A while later, he met my mother and decided to remarry.

The family reunification with his other kids had happened just as what my father

hoped and waited for years. After years, his children became a man and a woman. They followed their mother’s instructions and went back to Vietnam. However, they tried to contact my dad and went back to the old place that they were living before to ask for my father’s information. Obviously, it was a little hard for them to find my father’s current place because we moved to another city. Finally, they found him and found out that he had a new family which was my mother and me. At the same time, the purpose for them to come back to Vietnam was just because they wanted to see their father after years not because of trying to bring their mother and my father back together. However, my father’s ex-wife already had a new family just like my father. After a few days, they told my father that they wanted him to come to America to live with them because they would leave Vietnam to get back to America soon and they were wanting a family reunification would happen. My father didn’t answer right away, and he told them that he needed time to think about it. Then they gave him some time because they respected his opinions and they left a few days later. However, before they left, they got all my father’s contacts and gave all of their contacts for him to make sure that he would know how to contact them and tell them what his decision was.

The decisions he made that gave my mother and me an unimaginable life

with a lot of opportunities. After he got an offer from my step brother and sister, and then he started talking to my mother to think about it. It was a big decision, a big chance. Therefore, if he said yes, he would go to another whole new country with a lot of things better than Vietnam and leave my mother and me back in Vietnam. After all, he decided to go after talking with my mother, and he said that he had reasons behind it. As a result, my mother and I immigrated to the US. My father is a smart man, so my mom just believed and supported his decision. Until now, I started noticing the real purpose of why he decided to come to America. It was not just because he wanted to live with his children but because of he knew that how much brighter my future would be if I live in the US. Therefore, he wanted my mother and me to come to America too. The reason was because at that time I was so young and he knew about the reality in Vietnam which is not good for me so he wanted me to come to the US. Here, the US has more opportunities for me to become a better person, and have a brighter future.

The war ended. Therefore, there are no more conflicts in Vietnam. People are able to go back to Vietnam with peace. However, I love where I came from. Lived in Vietnam since I was born, I gained lots of things, and they were some part of me to help me become who I am today. Nevertheless, living in the United States right now, I feel so lucky. All my family members are here. We are happy, and we have a good life. The history had happened in the past and we all know that we can’t change it. However, we sure can make it better, and pick our own future to be different. Be proud of what makes you become who you are right now. I was wanted to say thank you to my dad’s ex-wife and all my step brothers and sisters because they were the root for my family to be here and Im thankful to my dad for his decisions.