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My dream
As
a young person in our society, a youth of
Australia, and an
Australian youth of a Vietnamese origin, I am a person who
is filled with many dreams and many ambitions to do life.
Many of these dreams and ambitions are very common to each
other; graduate from high school, go to university and get a
degree, travel, get a high paid job, house, car, then raise
a family, and it continues.
It’s typical to have these
ambitions in life, but it’s normal and there’s nothing wrong
with it. Coming from an Asian background (Obviously
Vietnamese), our cultural expectations are just that;
graduate from high school, go to university, etc, but for a
person such as myself, my dreams and ambitions are slightly
different.
In life, I still want to
graduate from high-school and university, get a job and
more, but the other fantasies (And unfortunately cultural
expectations) like being rich, living in a big house and
driving a nice sports car aren’t what I want at all. As an
Australian of a Vietnamese origin, I find my following
interests, dreams, ambitions and my set challenges to be
very unique and rare. The primary reason why I find my
ambitions to be unique amongst other people’s ambitions is
that I do not find anyone else to have a similar combination
of items I would like to complete in life. As well, what is
most unique and different is that at the same time, I want
to help and satisfy others, more than just myself. This will
be explained later.
The following are separate
explanations of the primary ambitions and goals I want like
to complete in my lifetime:
Ever since my childhood, I
have always liked trains. As I tend to say, I am very
fanatical about trains and it is my main epicenter of
hobbies. This interest has been with me for so long my first
ever words I spoke were “Xe Lua” (‘Train’ in Vietnamese!)!
Ever since then, I turn and look at every railway line and
every train I see, I watch every episode of Thomas the Tank
Engine (Even at 15years old) and I dedicate a lot of my
precious free time to enjoy having my interest in trains
(This includes taking photos, and also publishing articles
I’ve written in magazines).
As my railway interest
tends to be part of my life, my following ambitions will
obviously involve them:
-
Driving steam trains:
ALL MY LIFE, I
have always, ALWAYS wanted to be in command of a steam
train. Because of all those hundred episodes of Thomas the
Tank Engine I watched on television as a child, the
passion of steam trains has stayed with me right through
to when I am now an adolescent. As I am getting older, I
am being increasingly persistent and determined in my
pursuit for the opportunity to satisfy my ambition of one
day, working in a team and having a part in the operation
of a steam train, but to also one day, drive one……… just
like the ones on Thomas the Tank Engine
-
Pushing a ‘Trike’ across
Australia:
Formerly used on the railways, were hand pumped railmotors,
which relied on two operators to constantly pump air or
mechanical pressure through handles to move and propel the
railmotor along the tracks. A physically demanding machine
required a lot of strength and energy to keep the machine
moving along the railway lines.
I constantly dream of an
increasingly big ambition to one day, push one of these
machines along the railway lines across
Australia. Yes, physically
pump and move one of these rail machines all the way across
Australia from Perth to Sydney via Adelaide and Melbourne!
This ambition sounds too
creative, and in reality, physically and mentally demanding,
but this ambition is becoming an ‘urge’, as my life does not
feel complete without achieving this challenge. I am also
very determined to benefit many charities, by completing
this challenge, and raising a large amount of funds for a
selected charity.
My
railway interests are not only the interests or fascinations
a little Vietnamese boy like me has! I do not have an
interest, but more of a fascination into large road vehicles
such as trucks. That is, giant semi-trailer trucks. I am
fascinated by their very large size, their weight, but also
their power and their ability to transport heavy goods from
A to B. This fascination has also made me eager and keen to
one day, drive and take control of one of these machines
similar to my ambition of driving a steam train like Thomas
the Tank Engine.
·
Driving
the largest Road Vehicle:
This transport ambition I would also like to complete in
life, is to gain the control and command of the LARGEST,
HEAVIEST and most POWERFUL road vehicle available in
Australia (The Northern Territory ‘Road Train’ triple
trailer truck), and drive this truck across Australia, a
cross continent journey from Perth to Sydney via Adelaide
and Melbourne (Same path as my ‘railway trike’ ambition).
To pursue this ambition and achieve it, I would not be
satisfied if I had completed this ambition for myself, and
not also for the many charities I would like to assist in
life. I would like to complete and achieve this dream by
also assisting a charity and at the same time of
completing this ambition/challenge, raising a large amount
of funds towards this organisation.
My final ambition in life
is to circumnavigate Australia by a personal watercraft
machine such as a Jet Ski. This ambition and dream in life
(Similar to the ‘railway trike’) sounds fairly creative and
over-imaginative, but has been completed in the past. I have
no interests in marine transport or recreation, but I have a
fascination regarding Australia’s coastal geography and one
day, I would like to explore these coastal lands in a style
of machinery such as a Jet Ski. As this ambition seems
over-imaginative, it is also physically and mentally
demanding. This ambition is a challenge, and as with my
previous ambitions and challenges in life, I want to make
this a fundraiser as well.
As I have stated throughout
this essay, I have many unique dreams, ambitions and goals I
want to satisfy, achieve and complete in my lifetime. All
these ambitions and dreams vary between each other, judged
by their level of difficulty to achieve and complete, and
the time taken to reach them. I am determined and persistent
to the pursuit of these ambitions and challenges I create
myself, but equally, I want to help others.
There are other people in
our society and community (Both geographically and
ethically) who are less fortunately than you and me. This
may range under many things such as poverty, homelessness,
illness where life is shortened, their non-existent
opportunities in life and hundreds of others too far to
mention.
In my life, I want to (Or
shall I say ‘I will’?) commit and dedicate many of my
ambitions and challenges to these less fortunate people of
our community and culture. This is achieved by my ambitions
turning into fundraisers, and getting sponsors to
continually donate funds to charities and organisations
dedicated to helping these people of our society, on the
basis of my achievement and completion of my life ambitions.
Not only do I want to
satisfy myself, but I want to help and satisfy hundreds of
other people less fortunate than myself and I want to become
an inspiration and motivation to others to achieve the
ambitions and dreams they want to achieve, like the many
that I will have completed.
I am a young person who is
never in short supply of self-esteem, confidence,
personality, persistence, determination, optimism and hope.
I have pride and individuality in the person I am. I have
qualities and interests I find unique and rare in many
youths, particular youths with a Vietnamese background such
as mine (Really, are there any other Viet-Australians who
likes trains and wants to drive them?). These challenges
will take time to plan and will take longer to complete, but
in the end, I will have proved that “Nothing is
impossible to complete. The only thing stopping you is
time”.
I conclude my essay,
hopefully giving you an idea that my dreams, ambitions and
goals will satisfy my life, the way I want it to, and at the
same time, I want to be helping others who are less
fortunate, and don’t have the opportunity or the confidence
to achieve what they themselves want out of life. For me to
complete and satisfy these ambitions and challenges, I have
lived my life to the full.
By Maikha Ly (15yrs) -
Sydney, NSW
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