First Prize: Where the Sky Is Bright

For us, students in remote areas, where learning conditions and economic conditions are still very difficult, becoming a student of a large and traditional university is a great dream, and also a source of pride for the whole family. The goal of striving to pass is not only mine, but also that of many other young people throughout the years of high school. Every time we hear stories from teachers about our student days, we all keep quiet to listen and it seems that everyone paints a picture of joy and pride when becoming a university student. Because university is the place that will help us access new sources of knowledge, new and more scientific ways of working, cultivate the necessary skills for future work and life, a place for us to cultivate ourselves, learn from the civilized society out there to return to serve our homeland.

Humanities!

That day when I brought home my university entrance exam application and asked my father, that was the first time he heard me talk about Humanities. It took me a long time to remember the name “University of Social Sciences and Humanities” clearly, to the point that when my brother brought home his score report and said: “He passed the National University”, I argued with him. It was not until I enrolled that I realized: Yes, I passed the Humanities, the words “university student” also seemed very close, at that time I felt so proud! That said, the time I took the university entrance exam 3 years ago; the most exciting and enjoyable thing was to see the tall buildings, to watch cars driving on the wide and beautiful streets that I often saw on TV every night. Another part was to have something to show off to my friends, to satisfy my pride in telling them “I have been to the Capital”. It didn’t need to be anything too big, for people above me like that was enough to make me proud.

After going to school, I suddenly realized that the new school attracted me in a magical way. Questions like “Where do the Mong people come from?”, “Why do they live in the high mountains and suffer instead of living in the plains?”, “Why are there Mong people living in America - a place halfway around the world?”,... have made me curious for a long time, and then as if we were destined to be together, from studying and reading History, I found the answers for myself. Humanities gave me answers to my unclear questions and I love Humanities a little more! I have the answers, but how do I know if they are correct or not? Associate Professor, Dr. People's Teacher Hoang Van Khoan - the teacher we always respect suggested to me: “University is self-study and the method lies in each subject”. That's right, in the History department, “The historical process of Vietnam” showed me that the events I was wondering about did appear in history. Studying “Basis of Vietnamese culture”, “Ethnicity and ethnic policies” helps me distinguish and identify events belonging to my own people or other peoples, archaeology teaches me how to find answers from “under the ground”; find the way of cultural life, ethnic psychology and many factors that exist in that ethnic community... Just like that, one thing leads to another and from those small, unclear questions, I suddenly have an irresistible passion for researching the culture and history of my own people. My classmates often say to each other, “Now research has become a passion, a love”. That said, doing science is not easy. You have to learn how to exploit documents correctly and appropriately, how to cite documents, how to name topics and of course the most difficult thing is still the attitude towards the research problem, how to eliminate your subjective opinions in the article and express the problem in the most objective way. Learning to do research also requires learning how to present research results, so we have to dive into learning more soft skills: computer science, presentations, public speaking, etc. Along with that, the teaching and learning methods at Nhan Van require a high level of self-awareness and dynamism from each student. I remember every time I registered for a course, I was worried that I would stay up all night and still not be able to register, and the tuition had to be paid through a bank card that I had never used before. Studying in a new environment also exposed me to all new things; but as time passed, it seemed like I had just become a third-year student, had 3 years of memories with Nhan Van and countless side stories of life in the city, that was enough for me to have memories to remember, to dream about.

At Nhan Van, we - history students are often given the title of "professor" by our friends, because we are always busy with the library's bookshelf, sometimes even accumulating 3 or 4 shelves of books. However, that is the pride, the value that we feel of a Bachelor of History research. With the teaching, guidance, and enthusiastic help of the teachers in the department, our love for scientific research has grown. Every year, we enthusiastically welcome the student scientific research season with the best, "hottest", and most elaborate topics. We also create our own playgrounds in the style of "homegrown", which are study and research groups of a few members with the same passion. We organize presentations for each other and take each other to Co Loa citadel, to the only remaining rammed earth house to satisfy our curiosity. And so we left from Nhan Van and returned to Nhan Van as if it were our home!

Humanity in me!

That is simply where I found my passion. For me, the past 3 years have been wonderful, it was the time when I was able to live in my own passion under this school that has faded over time. The Humanities in me will continue and will last forever...