Occupied with life

By Paula V

Everyone has their own story which makes up their life, most going untold sometimes, but people have an emptiness in their heart, waiting to be filled.

“I really hated school, I hated doing math, I hated everything. I sucked at it too,” Nguyen said.

Out of 1 in approximately 1,800 students, we get a small glimpse at the journey of a young Yerba Buena High School student, Thien Nguyen.

Although Nguyen was born in America, the majority of his childhood was spent in Vietnam, meaning once he came back to America, he had to relearn the subjects, which he found no enjoyment in doing. Math being one of them, Nguyen struggled to find enjoyment in math, resulting in him having to spend time after school with his teacher because he was very behind.

Nguyen struggled with being able to understand the subject for some time, but it did not make him give up so easily.

With all the time Nguyen put into the subject, the ability to understand it came in the third grade, and ended up being one of his favorite subjects.

“Once I got up to third grade, math got a little more interesting, and I actually started liking it because I felt like a sudden burst of knowledge coming out from nowhere. I started liking math, and wanting to know more, and learn more,” Nguyen stated.

Nguyen said jokingly, “Definitely liked multiplication, being the fastest multiplier in the world, like 1-12s, in third grade. This was my peak performance in math; I was too good, I was too fast.”

While Nguyen was figuring out school and how he works best, listening to music created an outlet for him. Music helped figure himself out, but sports was also a part of figuring himself out.

Nguyen finds himself listening to music whenever he’s doing work for school, wants to relax from being stressed, or just whenever he feels like it.

“So I started making a playlist for myself. I used Spotify more, and I created this playlist that had a lot of meaningful songs that applied to my life, and applied to what I was going through, so yeah, I found it like a comfort thing,” Nguyen said.

Both played a huge part in his life, because the first ever sport he learned was basketball, which was taught to him.

“Sports? Man, it’s ‘cause I hate being inside. If I’m inside, I'm either listening to music, or doing homework. I just don’t like being inside my house. That's the thing, I rather be playing volleyball, or any sport,” Nguyen said.

Feeling a rush of excitement from playing it, he wanted to learn more sports, which he did, all by himself.

Nguyen said, “Man, it was like when I was really young, my dad taught me how to play basketball, and I fell in love with the sport. I love competitive stuff, I love being competitive and people with a lower skill than me, I look down on them (jokes). Especially in volleyball, I learned how to play by myself.”

In order to not fall behind, Nguyen did all his schoolwork. His mom made sure of it too.

“Oh, definitely my mom, like, she was very strict on me in math. Like, she would yell at me if a problem was too difficult for me, she’d yell at me like ‘you have to get this down!’ Honestly, it brought a lot of pressure, but I didn’t really care. My dad too, when I was young he used to give me a couple math problems,” Nguyen said.

His mom did her best before when Nguyen was struggling with school subjects, and continues to do what she can even after his understanding, so she can see him succeed.

Nguyen stated, “I love sports, I would never change my passion for sports, because sports is life. You have to be in a sport, it keeps you healthy, keeps you entertained. And if I’m not in a sport, I’ll go to, like, gym or something, or play a sport.”

What this interview tells me, is that although learning to be a student and a kid at the same time can be hard, it is possible, and that we shouldn’t give up easily, and always try.