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This is me just at the beginning of this timeline. It is quite representative of how I take on the challenges that I have to face with for the next 9 months. I didn't know what to expect at the end of it, but I was there for the journey. I was living in the moment for every second of it. The grass was wet and somewhat spiky. All I had to protect me from a potential huge medical bill for brain damage or broken limbs was a blanket. I never thought much of this video besides my goofy nature, but it turned out to be just exactly how I am as a person. Fierce and spontaneous.

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48 hours of programming, creating something from scratch, I was on brainy mode and chomping new knowledge for food with monster as a side-drink. Like most other CS kids out here, I was just trying to make something cool, and maybe win a prize. Why is it so important in my story line though?

Well, here is the real back story. Besides being there for just the experience, I honestly wanted to win a title that I could maybe put on my resume. While I was working on this project, I had no ideas why I was doing any of it. I thought it was for the team spirit, since my two other teammates were so passionate. Moreover, at the point of this hackathon, a week into Fall term of 2019-2020, I was officially homeless and surfing on my friends’ couches with my one suitcase of clothes and essentials I have survived on for the previous 2 weeks of travelling after STAR summer program. I was a mess and in no mental capacity to be working, let alone competing in a hackathon. I had been searching for housing endlessly for a week, and I had only had 2 hours of sleep in the car on the way from Philly to NY.

I genuinely am unsure what kept me going. Maybe it was the monster drink. Maybe it was something else, we shall discuss it furthermore.

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Luckily, I did win a prize! It wasn't all for nothing. In retrospective, this is a very enlightening moment for me. I was so happy with the product that we put together at the end. I realize that my true passion is in coding, whether I have been spending my days and nights writing amazing programs. The amount of pride and joy I had, knowing that we had a working prototype (not a mind-blowing one, but a working one), cleared my questions to my motives in going in the field of Computer Science. I never want to be chasing the money, and it is great to confirm my purposes.

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I have finally found housing! What a relief! Oh. And this is my mom. She was visiting me in the US. The day I moved in was the day she arrived. It was a close call, but it all worked out. I always thought I was more mature than my age, but that may have been an illusion. Having her with me slowly made me feel like a child again. Although she was visiting as a guess, she has started taking over and taking care of me. At this point on, I started going through a lot of inner-self growth and dilemmas. Each picture has its own story in this timeline. This one carries a moment that I now realize something I hold closely in my heart as a motivation to keep moving.

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Coming to the US as an extra extrovert, outgoing and friendly gal, I had been spreading myself thin across different friendships, projects. I was investing my times in everything and nothing at all. Although I was aware of this, it was hard to make a change of habit. Things started changing soon enough, however. My crazy roommate story began, which I shall save for another time, became a great source of time-consuming negativity in my life. My time became greatly more precious. I felt bad that I was dropping out of extra-curricular activities and fun events going on. I became hyper aware of my commitments and had to reevaluate them constantly. It was an extremely difficult task, because I was still orientating myself academically and professionally. Had it not been for the Aspire Scholar program, I would have felt lost and lonely not having a completely clear vision of where I wanted to be in the longer future. Before going into further details, I would like to dedicate my journey of finding the right path for myself to the Aspire Scholar program, my friends, including those I’ve made through Aspire, and my mentors.

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It had been a month of stressful maneuvering as an adult. I tried my best to spend quality time with my mom, making sure she was enjoying her first holidays in 30 years. I managed to put together enough savings from part-time jobs and my scholarship to create a comfortable situation for both of us while she was visiting me. However, the financial responsibility that I must take were more noticeable day by day. I was obsessively concerned with money problem, despite having a great scholarship. As I applied for jobs in Round A of co-op, I was aiming for those out of my reach, not understanding what I really wanted in the field of Computer Science. I was also looking for Education focused research. Redefining what I care about, I was in some ways in distracted. During recruiting, one of the most important keys to getting a good job is finding the right fit and knowing what to look for. I was still unsure of all of this. I ended up failing my A round.

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Aspire Scholar program had given me guidance, tasks, and small steps to take to explore my career interest as well as my near future goals. During winter break, I had a great time winding down from stress at school, work and all things considered. I cleared my mind, and recognized what commitments were important to me and refocused my energy on clubs and projects that matter most to me. My mom was having a great time too, as she was finally done with jetlag.

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Since the moment I stepped foot on the land of America, I had built myself such a good supportive family of people who have seen my at my worst and my best. I am very grateful to have been taken under care by such genuine kindness and warmth. Ms. Doreen saw me through all the changing stages of an international freshman. By the time I said goodbye forever to the freshmen dining hall, we had become besties. Mrs. Brenda would give me an approval nod every time she passed by me, then a long sigh shaking her head jokingly at me whenever she would see me running late for my 9am lectures or dramatically tearing up over minor issues. My nice bosses at Starbucks while I was working morning shifts from 7am before my afternoon classes. The friends I made weren't always my peers or those who share so much in common with me. However, they cared and gave me all the wisdom they had. I have so much gratitude for having such wonderful people in my life.

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Round B co-op has come around. There are not many jobs that cross over both education and computer science on the market, but there are some. I settled for those that allow as much gray area between the two fields as possible. At the same time, I looked for jobs in CS that were more compatible with my skills set. Instead of overlooking my clear enthusiasm for social and humanities topics, I initiated some modest steps expanding on my interdisciplinary academics. By going to some of the Honors program events, getting more involved with International Student Union, I was reconnecting myself with parts of me that were missing without me even knowing. Despite the ongoing issues related to housing and my mom’s health during her visit, I felt confident about the decisions I was making. I also started going swimming again oddly in the middle of winter, but it was always a great time!

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Aspire Scholar program plays such an important role in my professional outreach. While it was challenging to initialize contact with strangers, let alone a professional in the field that I am interested in, with the broken down and transparent steps Aspire Scholar program offered, I got to talk and learned from inspiring accomplished individuals.

“The skills in CS go beyond creating programs.”

As I dive into different types of LinkedIn profiles of active people in the CS industry, I found there are no limitation on how one can shape their career in the field.

Another good thing is I have also moved out. Although it did not work out to be a great decision financially, I was cutting off the source for a lot of my problems. I was excited to start over. This picture is taken from my kitchen window where I would spend much time pondering over life and its matter at.

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Each of us has fought the corona battle in our own ways. I did not have the easiest time with mine. I feed off people’s energy and gained greatly from socializing. Different perspectives are important to me, because they are liberating, and they bring a sense of more thorough understanding. I was struggling and losing to quarantine in the first month and a half of Corona. I had to look within myself and found there were a lot of disconnections and confusion.

This was taken on my 20th birthday. I felt so grateful to be so warmed by my families and friends.

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While presumably learning a new hobby and trying to simply relax isn’t something that can be considered professionally oriented, painting and taking advantage of the world stopping refreshed me and gave me ideas of my future dream, where I want to work and what I want to work on.

Flashing back to the meetings with Aspire Scholar, I remember now how we were reminded to take our time and give ourselves enough room to plan for our future without stressing out. It is incredibly hard to consciously shut out the noises of worries and focus on what I truly want on my bucket list, especially when the list is never static. However, my rare moments of inner peace have gone a long way putting me on the right track.

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Starting co-op and looking for what I enjoy working with and what not, I have been listening to different teams work and kept an open mind about connecting my interdisciplinary interest in Education and CS with my role as a software developer for a trading company. It is important to grasp the meaning behind each project, as this allows me to be more driven and aspired. If the values the project has align with what I care about, I find that it does not have to directly connect with Education. I can start using my extra time and energy for building a good foundation in social work that builds around community building that has element of educational development.

I have reconnected with my family in Vietnam. My mom, my sister, and I do yoga everyday together on the phone. We have a working routine.

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Going back to the first video on this timeline, my journey has been somewhat similar to one of that short roll. It was not the most enjoyable experience, but it was so memorable. The unknown of what could happen was scary, yet thrilling. I went into it fierce and ready to savior every second. That mentality is something I wish to carry with me in my everyday life.

Remember your root.

Everything is not in great order yet. I have yet so many obstacles to overcome, but I no longer feel alone, whether at work or at home. My commitments have seen many changes, and they are most likely to see even more as I go. However, I am not to be afraid of adjustment in my values, knowing that I never lose my root and that I have great mentors and a high functional support system. Thank you to Aspire Scholar for having been with me through one of the most demanding years I have had.