Written by Zip Nguyen in her father's absence—Translated by Hang Nguyen
Click here to read the original post written in Vietnamese.
Dad.
People say that I am just like you — from my facial expressions, my gait, my gestures, my thoughts, and my personality, especially my determination once I set my sights on something. Back in the days when I was a kid, you confided in your friends about my unruly nature, and not until they asked you: “So who do you think she inherits that trait from?” that you realized why and said: “Oh! That’s it! Because she is my daughter!”
People say that I am just like you, but as a kid, I didn't like being compared to you. When someone said: “You're a copy of your father”, I would immediately deny it. I was worried that if I become successful in the future, people will assume my success comes from the fact that I'm your child and I’m your other version. Therefore, I always wanted to be different, independent from your shadow, and prove not only to the world but also to myself that I am who I am today not because of you, but myself.
How childish!
The more I grow up, the more I realize how lucky I am to have such a father like you and to inherit these valuable traits from you.
I am fortunate to have observed your lifestyle, as well as your work habits from a young age. You worked a lot, and usually, you got out of bed at 4:30 or 5 AM every morning -- sometimes even earlier. Even after already retiring, you still work hard, not because you are a workaholic but because you always take this responsibility upon yourself to take care of everyone around you, especially the people in the Football Magazine's family.
At work, you have always been an honorable leader. You taught me about morality from a young age, not only social manners but also work ethics. I am fortunate to have learned many things, even the smallest ones, from you, by observing how you treat people. You are helpful to people, but this comes from the bottom of your heart and is not there to be shown off. There were stories that I didn’t know, probably never would have known, until later. You once said: “The loneliness of a leader lies in not being understood and not being able to do everything he wants as many people would think; but in return, the joy of being a leader comes from having the responsibility to take care of many people and their families, influencing people, and earning their trust."
You are quite short-tempered but always considerate of others, especially your family; yet I know your short temper comes from good intentions as you only want the best for people you care about. Anyone who knows you personally, understands you, and is close to you, improves themselves thanks to that. It's just who you are — hard on the outside but soft on the inside. Our family is not well-off, but also not so poor — however, on cold days, you turn off the heating when you're by yourself to save our family money and energy, but you never think twice when it comes to spending money for our family!
I started writing this article in April and I was going to post it on the occasion when you officially turned a new page, but I get emotional again and again just thinking about you so it has been left unfinished. No matter how busy you are, you still remember to send me your weekly article for this “Story of the week” column on our weblog bloomincrisis.com and make sure you "meet expectations" — two days ago, you sent me a new article even though it was a hectic week for you; how responsible you are, Dad! Your articles are always related and realistic, touching the hearts of many young people — many of them have been sharing with me that they've learned how to perceive things more positively since reading your articles.
This week, I would love to release this article as a way to pay my tribute to you.
"Daddy, get some rest."
Happy Father’s Day 💝
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