Nam Khanh describes himself as an “alien” whose inner world was a strange planet that no one had ever set foot on. He tells the story of his journey to change himself, which helped him conquer the top liberal arts university in the United States.
Tran Nam Khanh, a 12th grade English major student at the Foreign Language High School (Hanoi), has just received early admission to Colby College, a top 25 liberal arts college in the US. In addition, the male student also received support of about 7.5 billion VND for 4 years of studying at this school.
“Colby may not have been my biggest goal, but it was the best fit for me. I feel happy with the result,” Khanh said.
Khanh prepared his application later than his friends, so he did not have much time to invest in his essay. However, this was the element that the male student was most satisfied with in his application. Khanh's essay was about his journey to discover his relationship with himself and the people around him.
Since entering high school, Nam Khanh has noticed many psychological changes in himself. He always feels like he is mature before his age, too sensitive, and thinks too much, while his friends around him are all innocent and carefree.
That sensitivity made Khanh feel different and gradually lost connection with her friends. At first, when she realized something was wrong, Khanh tried to change herself to fit in with everyone. But the more she did, the more she fell into a state of extreme stress, energy exhaustion and loneliness.
“On the journey of longing to find a place to belong, I abandoned my own “planet”, abandoned myself,” Khanh recalled.
One day, Khanh decided not to run away anymore, to stand up for himself, learn to face negative emotions and regulate his own emotions.
“When I stopped thinking one-sidedly and imposing my thoughts on others, I realized that I no longer had negative reactions, and everything became much easier.
I also started to learn how to connect with people without losing myself. In the end, I changed into a more mature version, knowing how to find connections with myself and the people around me,” Khanh said.
In the essay, Khanh used the image of “alien” to symbolize his own difference as well as that of each individual compared to other individuals in the community.
“To me, everyone is an alien living on their own planet, with their own thoughts, feelings and subjective perspectives.
I also understand that a meaningful connection does not mean staying forever on someone else's 'planet'. It is about visiting their private world, appreciating the beauty there and returning to your own world," Khanh said.
The male student commented that it was probably thanks to the metaphors he incorporated into the content of his essay that impressed the admissions committee. Through the essay, the admissions committee also learned what kind of person he was, how different he was, and his efforts to change to become a better version of himself.
In addition to the unique essay, Nam Khanh also has an impressive "profile" with an average score of 9.6/10 in school; SAT 1560, IELTS 8.0 and a Japanese language certificate.
Nam Khanh also has a research project on the topic of building a national financial education strategy, aiming at the goal of comprehensive and sustainable financial development. In it, Nam Khanh has researched and analyzed evidence from developed countries that have introduced financial education programs into secondary schools.
From that survey, Khanh proposed solutions for Vietnam. He believes that high school students should be equipped with more in-depth knowledge related to economics, finance, business administration... from which they will have a solid foundation to apply in practice.
In addition, with his passion for drawing and graphic design skills, the male student also designed T-shirts to give to students in mountainous areas. Many media publications in high school clubs are currently managed by Nam Khanh. Even since grade 11, Khanh has had an additional income from graphic design work.
According to Nam Khanh, the balance between factors such as academics, extracurricular activities and personal style is the plus point for candidates to convince the admissions board to choose them.
Admitted to Colby College, Nam Khanh hopes that in the future, in addition to studying Economics, he will develop himself in another major, possibly Psychology, to learn more about human psychology.
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/bai-luan-dac-biet-giup-nam-sinh-ha-noi-gianh-hoc-bong-my-hon-7-5-ty-dong-2353874.html
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