Fulfilling the Dream by Phuong

Fulfilling the Dream by Phuong - June 2013 Scholarship Essay

“Ah, look upon this and tell what this is.” I stated as I calmly held the instrument in front of her.
“Well…a compass?” my cousin shrugged. “I don’t know, it’s just a compass isn’t it Phuong?”
“Why of course it is, but a very special one indeed; it was the last thing my father bestowed upon me before he was relegated to the hospital bed.” I started to grow pensive, looking out the window at the sanguine sunset.
My father was a dreamer. He always wanted to go past the fence, peer past the mountains, and tread through the darkness if he saw light past the brambles. That was why he left the bleak and desolate outlook of Vietnam and trekked into new territory: the United States. Even of no one else in the family wanted to follow him—until me of course. It was just the two of us, but no, we were not lost, indeed, we knew exactly where to go and what we were looking for. We could always count on “The Dream”: to make a better life in a new setting and bring contentment to our poverty-ridden family. And we were well on our way too even though the goings were tough. I excelled in school due to his urging and it appears that both of us would reach the promise land—but it was not so—.
A smoker, he developed lung cancer, in which diagnosis was complicated by the fact that he visited a freelance doctor due to financial weakness and all through sixth grade I held up school responsibilities while taking care of him during times where he was allowed home from the hospital. Due to the disease, he was under immense pain, but I felt pain as well, watching him writhed in discomfort.
As summer peeked at us and other children chattered excitedly about their summer plans—my father breathed his last breath. But with that, he urged me to find prosperity.
Now I sat waiting for UCLA’s decision on my application, in a new home, in a new family, in a new time. As the time came to click the digital icon leading to either a “Congratulations!” or a “We regret to inform you”, I plucked up the fine, stainless steel compass, squeezed it, and pressed it against my heart with my left hand. I clicked. My cousin peers over my shoulder as we anxiously waited for the page to load. “Congratulations. It is our great pleasure to offer you admission to UCLA…” For a second, I blinked and held my breath and time was still. Then, my cousin screams in excitement and I raised my fist, defiantly screaming, “YES!”
After she left I sat there feeling relieved and fulfilled. I knew my father would have been proud. Before I got up I held the silvery instrument to my forehead and whispered, “Thank you, the dream is now on its way.”