My Journey

I was born into an ordinary family in southern Vietnam in the early 1990s. My father worked two jobs for most of his life: thirty years on a factory floor and, on the side, farming his own land. My mother was a devoted housewife, though she also farmed and hand-wove conical leaf hats for a small income before taking her first formal job when she was nearly fifty. My older brother, calm and gentle, has always been quietly supportive.

Family was where I first learned how to love and how to navigate conflict in a relationship. Those lessons stayed with me through thirteen years with my beloved partner.

In high school, I was a diligent student, strongest in mathematics, 3D geometry, physics, and painting. With that foundation and a dream of becoming an architect, I prepared intensely for the university entrance exam, a defining moment for students in Vietnam at that time. However, I did not pass. I chose my second option: architecture at Van Lang University.

Five years of university were quieter than I had imagined, but I finished. I also met my future husband there.

After graduating, I joined several construction companies, learning steadily until I could manage the full architectural design process from end to end and work confidently with clients and stakeholders.

Then came Pepper, my first business. My partner and I launched an F&B venture on a tight budget in Da Nang City. It worked. I managed cash flow for the first time and discovered I was good at it. I learned operations, people, and the rhythm of running something of your own.

We chose to close Pepper to pursue a longer-term goal: immigration. We had no connections, no guidance, no knowledge of the process, and almost no budget. We started from zero.

I began learning English, also from zero, and studied for the IELTS while researching immigration pathways across multiple countries. I enrolled in a Master of Management Information Systems at Edith Cowan University in Perth with financial support from my family and partner. It was a modest budget, but it was all they had.

I graduated in February 2025.

On 23 February 2026, I received a pre-invitation for a Subclass 190 state nomination. That afternoon is one I do not think I will ever forget. It is not only my dream. It belongs to anyone who has ever believed in something that sounded impossible, no matter where they started from.

It has been a long and difficult journey. But I know what carried me through it.

I would like to thank my beloved family, who stayed, supported me, and took care of everything while I could not be there.

I would also like to thank my partner, who listened at the end of every hard day, who believed in this plan when it still sounded like a crazy dream, and who never once let me feel alone in it, even from the other side of the world.

We are about to build a new life together, in a new country. It has not happened yet. But I am not worried. We have started from zero before, and we have always found our way.

Good things take time. And he is worth every bit of it.

The journey does not stop here. I want to keep growing, building a long-term career and reaching the point where English is no longer something I work at, but simply a part of who I am. I am not in a hurry. I have learned that the things worth having ask you to be patient.

This blog is where I will be writing that next chapter, one honest post at a time.