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So you're stuck in a traffic jam, looking at the people passing by.
Have you ever thought to yourself: How am I different from all these people?
You're sitting in class and you just cannot get anything the teacher's saying.
"Do I really have to study these things? Do I really want to study these things?"
It's a gloomy day and you have nothing to do and you decide that you're gonna pass time by staring at the sky.
And you just keep wondering: Am I gonna be alright?
I don't know about you, but I often do that.
You know, what they always write in books:
"Follow your dreams, because they are the key to your future"
"Passion leads way to success"
Well you know... it really is not that easy, isn't it?
Things were so simple when we were 5.
Paper and colour pencils. Toys.
No obligation.
We had our own world, in our imagination, in our paintings, in our toys.
We were passionate. Nothing else would matter. We would scream our lungs out to get it.
Everything is so exciting when we get to do what we love.
Mommy!!!
And there were times, thinking about my passion was enough to make me smile.
Now I have my obligations.
When I see my relatives during the holidays, they always want to hear something nice when asking me: How are you doing at school?
For me, I want to study well and become the man of my family.
Have a bright future, stuff like that.
And there are a whole lot of things I need to study to do so.
Well, there comes a time when you are old enough and start asking yourself: Do I really want this?
I live in a society in which many parents want their children to have a stable office job,
instead of painting 15 hours a day,
or spending hours on vocal training,
or sweating in the dance studio.
We're stuck in this mess not knowing what to choose,
and we just have to put our hopes into our parents.
Sometimes you want to be an exception.
And get disappointment in return.
There are so many things that this society considers useless and unrealistic.
And then... we go to college.
Giving up painting to study Finance and Banking.
Stop dreaming of being a football player to study for Medical school.
All these years, people keep telling us what to do and what not to do.
Well, people, you have succeeded in deciding my path.
Yes, the path chosen by society and family.
The path that our older brothers and sisters have walked; the very path that our peers are heading to.
Everybody tells you that wishful thinking will set you back and you are going to fail.
And you are afraid of not being a part of "everybody." Of their judgments.
Thus you compromise.
Before we figure out what's going on,
it's time to start working, get married and worry about tons of other things.
Is this how the story's gonna end?
You are still lucky if you are young, like me.
Well, I must admit my situation is no better than yours.
My parents chose my major in college even though I had interests of my own.
Now I don't have the courage to start all over since I'm already in my junior year.
But I don't blame the circumstances.
And so shouldn't you.
Find a solution that suits you.
I would recommend that you spend a lot of free time to try,
experiment,
attempt doing what you are passionate about,
seriously and aggressively.
If you love to write, just pick up the pen.
If you want to do business, thinking about selling something is a good start.
And if becoming a great chef is always in your mind,
read a cookbook or take a cooking class.
Don't dream about doing it. Do it for real.
When you finally find your true passion,
it is time to make the next step to define who you are.
Show your parents what you've secretly accomplished.
Trust me, they are your biggest supporters.
They just need to be sure that you are mature enough to make your own decision.
Oh crap!
I'm running late for my part-time job.
We also need money to finance our passion.
See you again next time!
Actually this is not the end.
I bet you watch this video, you think that it's meaningful,
then you turn off your computer
and Bam!!!,
nothing changes. At all.
You're gonna think: a video is just a video.
It is way too different in real life.
You're gonna think: Dude, I can't just follow my passion. It's easy for you to say. I have to do this and that and blah blah blah...
You're wrong. We all have things to do, things to overcome.
Otherwise there's no such thing as a good story to tell.
And I can also tell you countless stories,
about people who, in many circumstances, in very different ways,
still followed their dream.
Le Mai Anh had loved drawing since childhood.
In grade 10, she joined a comic book club and was introduced to draw illustrations for a magazine.
This part-time job proved to be more exciting than she thought.
Her nickname "Tuyet dinh sinh vat" appeared on the cover of the book series, illustrated newspapers and magazines,
after seven years pursuing her dream.
She continues to paint with the desire to touch the heart of every person.
On January 2011, Aiden Nguyen and his best friend started a dance group named St.319 with only 2 members.
No support from parents.
They secretly practiced at home and then rehearsed together at a studio.
They distributed flyers at high schools and universities to search for members.
Aiden and S.319 also performed for free in a long time to make a name for themselves.
After 2 years, St.319 now has 20 members, 28 million views on Youtube and more than 130.000 fans on Facebook.
More than 4000 hours of hard work in 2 years.
Aiden has never thought of giving up on his dream.
Yasuy used to sing along singers on TV when he was a kid.
He always took part in performances at school.
If you haven't already known, he bought his first guitar by working in a coffee farm.
I must say that he deserves to be the winner of Vietnam Idol 2012.
Christine Ha's eyesight has worsen since the age of 19 and almost went blind in 2007.
But it didn't mean that she gave up on cooking.
Overcoming more than 30,000 contestants in preliminary round, the blind Vietnamese girl won the ultimate prize of the Master Chef TV show.
Christine Ha famously said that: You may not see the path ahead,
She is graduating from her Master of Fine Arts degree and is going to write a biography, beside the cook book deal from Master Chef.
but your heart needs to know the final destination. (It would definitely be an interesting biography.)
I think I already know where my heart wants to be.
How about you?
Will you not give up?
You will always smile when you do what you love.
What's the harm in keeping smiling anyways?
Never give up on your dream.