Flaunt It! By Hoa Ngo (Age 9)

Every person is not the same.We all have our differences that makes us special and unique. We shall not be afraid of our differences or keep them secret. We should be proud of them and share them. One of my differences is that unlike most people, instead of immigrating to a new land, I escaped.

Most people travel to different places for fun or for work. But my family didn’t. Where I was born in Vietnam, there was a cruel ruler called Ho Chi Minh. He was frightening and scary. After he died, his followers, known as communists went around threatening people who lived where is enemies were, in South Vietnam. That just happened to be where I lived. Some of the communists killed my grandfather and my great uncle. Some of the communists took over my dad’s farm, causing his family to starve and soon, his sister died of starvation. 

Because of the communists, many people tried to escape on boats but many died. My uncle was one of them and luckily he survived. When I was born, my family decided we had to go. My mom called my uncle, and he made some papers that allowed us to escape to the U.S.A. We finally left! Unfortunately, only my family could go. My relatives had to stay but my uncle was able to bring my cousin over and he is planning to bring my relatives over in ten years. It’s a long time but at least they can come.

Everyone has their differences that make them special and unique. This is mine.

Don’t Hide It, Flaunt It (DHIFI) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with the mission of advancing acceptance, understanding, tolerance and mutual respect for a person’s visible or invisible differences.

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CASEL Competencies
 
  • Self-awareness: Assessing
 one’s own strengths […] and possessing confidence and growth mind-set
  • Social awareness: Taking the perspective of and empathizing with others from diverse backgrounds and cultures
  • Relationship skills: Establishing healthy and rewarding relationships with diverse individuals.