mọi thứ sẽ ổn
by Tina
Tina is from Grand Rapids, MI, and graduated from the University of Michigan in 2021.
While you read her story, use the guide below each caption for help pronouncing the Vietnamese words.
For English translations, scroll down to the glossary at the end.
Xin chào! My name is Duyen. It means charm and grace in English. This is me at nhà của tôi ở Việt Nam. My cousin and I love to play in the front yard.
—
xin chào sin chow
nhà của tôi ở Việt Nam nha kooah doi uh Vietnam
This is also me but a lot older. This is my gia đình! Here, we have mẹ, ba, và em gái.
—
gia đình yah din
mẹ meh
ba bah
và em gái vah em gai
My dad is a scary person when he is drunk. My mom, my sister, and I always feel anxious when he is out drinking. I wish this is just a cơn ác mộng so that I can wake up soon.
—
cơn ác mộng cuhn ack mong
We are on our way to the airport to fly to the United States! We said tạm biệt to our family. My mom khóc trong xe. I am confused.
—
tạm biệt dahm beeit
khóc trong xe kuhk trong seh
Our first stop is Las Vegas because our plane was having maintenance issues. I am ngạc nhiên by the beautiful cars and the bright city lights. This place is awesome!
—
ngạc nhiên ngak neehn
We are finally here! We are at nhà của ông bà. My grandpa serves me my first meal in the United States, milk and plain cheerios. I don’t like it.
—
nhà của ông bà nha kooah ohm baa
Learning English is khó khăn. My mom and I are arguing over how to say “I don’t know English” correctly before we go to the checkout line. If only we had someone to tell us how ngớ ngẩn we sound.
—
khó khăn koh kahn
ngớ ngẩn nguh ngah
First day of school, I’m lo lắng. I’m cluelessly sitting on someone else’s desk. My classmates are laughing at me. Why are they laughing at me? I don’t have anyone to talk to...
—
lo lắng loh laang
"Ka·san·dra? Kuh·san·druh?” I’m practicing the pronunciation in my head. Cassandra and I become bạn bè! We don’t talk much but we are having fun on the swings. She is my first friend in the United States.
—
bạn bè ban beh
I broke my tay and it hurts a lot. This is my first time at the hospital in the Hoa Kỳ. The nurse gives me a slushie so I feel a little bit better.
—
tay tay
Hoa Kỳ hoah kee
“We need your parents’ permission to talk to you,” said the customer service person on the phone. I am panicking as I help my ba mẹ write a check while also calling customer service.
—
ba mẹ bah meh
I am moving away to trường đại học. My parents are sad. I am worried about them. What if something bad happens while I’m not here?
—
trường đại học truhng dai hohk
I feel overwhelmed, but my parents need me. I wish I didn’t have to deal with these gánh nặng.
—
gánh nặng gehng nahng
Meet my dance friends! I joined a đội nhảy in college. I search for other happiness to balance out the burdens of family and school. For the first time in my life, I finally feel like I belong somewhere.
—
đội nhảy doi ngaee
Xin chào! My name is Tina. Yes, I changed my name! It is one of the biggest changes in my life and it feels amazing. I feel proud of myself for taking steps towards things that make me happy.
—
xin chào sin chow
“Congratulations to the class of 2021, we did it!” Ahhh, I can’t believe it! As I approach the end of a chapter in my life, I learned that as long as I am doing my best, mọi thứ sẽ ổn :)
—
mọi thứ sẽ ổn moy tuoo se ohn
Glossary
ba dad
ba mẹ parents
bạn bè friends
cơn ác mộng nightmare
đội nhảy dance team
gánh nặng burdens
gia đình family
Hoa Kỳ United States
khó khăn difficult
khóc trong xe crying in the car
lo lắng nervous
mẹ mom
mọi thứ sẽ ổn everything will be ok
ngạc nhiên amazed
ngớ ngẩn silly
nhà của ông bà grandparents’ house
nhà của tôi ở việt nam my house in Vietnam
tạm biệt goodbye
tay arm
trường đại học college
và em gái and my little sister
xin chào hello