Part 1 – Story 01 Family Activation

How many people are there in your family?

four / younger brother / close-knit | There are four of us in my family: my parents, my younger brother and me. We all study or work in quite different fields, but we're a close-knit family and I try to go back home whenever my schedule allows.

Who are you closest to in your family?

mother / turn to / advice | I'd say I'm especially close to my mother. She's usually the first person I turn to when I need advice because she knows me really well and tends to give me practical suggestions.

Do you often ask your parents for advice?

important decisions / practical / final decision | Yes, especially when I have an important decision to make. I normally turn to my mother for advice because she's quite practical, although I still prefer to make the final decision myself.

What do your parents do?

judge / teacher / influence | My father is a judge, while my mother is a high-school teacher. Their jobs are quite different, but both of them have had a strong influence on the way I think about responsibility and education.

Have your parents influenced you a lot?

strong influence / values / career | Definitely. They've influenced both my personality and the way I approach my studies. They've taught me to take responsibility for my own choices and to keep learning throughout life.

Who influenced your studies the most?

father / engineering / electrical appliances | Probably my father. When I was younger, I used to watch him repair electrical appliances, and I think that helped spark my interest in engineering. My mother also made me appreciate education because she's a teacher.

What values did your parents teach you?

respect / responsibility / lifelong learning | They taught me to respect and care for older family members, take responsibility for my own decisions and keep learning throughout life. Those values sound quite simple, but they've influenced many of my choices.

Are you close to your younger brother?

medicine / different fields / fishing | Yes, we're quite close. He's studying medicine while I'm in engineering, so our academic fields are completely different, but we still get along really well and sometimes cook or go fishing together with our father.

What do you usually do together as a family?

meals / catch up / cook / fishing | We usually do fairly simple things together. We have meals, catch up on what everyone has been doing, and sometimes I cook or go fishing with my father and younger brother.

Do you spend weekends with your family?

Quang Nam / schedule / switch off | Whenever my schedule allows, I go back to Quang Nam at the weekend. I usually have meals with my family or go fishing with my father and brother, and it helps me switch off after a busy week.

How important is family time to you?

important / stability / university | It's really important to me. University can get quite busy, so spending quality time with my family gives me a sense of stability and helps me take my mind off academic pressure for a while.

Do you prefer spending time with family or friends?

depends / family / friends | It really depends on the situation. I enjoy spending time with my friends, but if I've had a particularly stressful week, I'd probably choose my family because being at home helps me relax and recharge.

Did you spend more time with your family as a child?

same roof / free time / university | Definitely. When I was growing up, we lived under the same roof and I obviously had much more free time. These days, university keeps me busy, so I don't get to spend as much time with them as I used to.

Would you like to live near your family in the future?

ideally / visit / career | Ideally, yes. I don't necessarily want to live in the same house, but I'd like to be close enough to visit regularly and spend quality time with them. I don't want my career to take over my entire life.

Do you think family will always be important to you?

support / stability / balance | Definitely. My family has always supported me and given me a sense of stability, so I can't really imagine that changing. In the future, I'd like to strike a good balance between my career and family life.