You once told me about your dream of becoming an architect, but then you said you wanted to become a chef. I happily wished you would become a good chef. But when you said you would go to culinary school, I was a little confused.
I feel sorry. Academic ability is not an advantage but she is very active and proactive. I think with a quick style and average academic ability, it is not too difficult to have a bachelor's degree and a stable job in the future. But at the farewell party for grade 9, class monitor Tran Trung Chinh said he would go to vocational school. I felt uneasy so I asked: Why don't you continue studying? She said: My family doesn't have the conditions. Continuing to study is draining my parents' efforts. Having a bachelor's degree is not certain to get a job, I don't think it's okay. To ensure financial security and not drop out of school, my only option is to go to vocational school. Honestly, I want to go to a vocational school but circumstances don't allow it. I will go to a restaurant, my friend's father is the owner, he has agreed to let me work as a kitchen assistant and learn cooking.
In that situation, I couldn't do anything but hold her hand and tell her to try…
Meeting again after 10 years, she confidently said: When I first started learning the profession in the kitchen, everything was not like at school. There were times when I felt discouraged, I kept wondering if I was doing the right thing? It took me a while to adapt to the new environment. And not long after that, I realized that my choice was right, the best thing was that I had the opportunity to show my strengths early. Now, if time could be turned back, if my family had the conditions, I would still choose to learn the profession. She confided a lot, I listened as a way to share and sympathize. Then I asked: "Do you feel that your knowledge is inferior to your peers who have gone to university?" Very brave, Chinh said: “I have nothing to be self-conscious about when I don’t go to university like my friends. Even though going to university was once my dream. But I think everyone has different strengths and circumstances. I realize that knowledge is not related to perception. I think that studying to the end is studying to become a person, studying to get a job, to earn money. I am inferior to my friends in terms of formal qualifications, but I have self-improved, read books and encountered life a lot, so my experience and experience are not inferior.”
Illustration: HOANG DANG
I was curious to ask her what her current job was and how much she earned, and she humbly said that she was currently just a chef at a small restaurant in Soc Trang . The income was not much, but it was enough to live on and she sent a decent amount home to help her parents every month. What made her satisfied with her choice? Chinh confided: “The happiest thing is that I can be myself, do the job that I like. Cooking, this profession is not noble (sometimes it is not respected), but I do not see the profession as just a job to earn money, I see the profession as myself, so I try my best every day”. When I asked about his plans for the future, Chinh said that he dreamed of opening a cooking school, or if it was smaller, a cooking class. It is a vocational school for young people in difficult circumstances, who cannot afford to go to university, nor have the conditions to go to vocational schools, he wants it to exist in the form of studying while working - like he did in the past.
At the end of the conversation, both teachers and students agreed with the idea: Going to university is not the only way to success, vocational training is also the future. (Saying this does not mean only learning a vocational training but ignoring self-training and cultivating to improve knowledge).
Talking to my former student, I remember the feeling of confusion when he said he would go to vocational school. Now I feel reassured, I am so happy that he chose the right path and put his heart and soul into that choice. I am waiting for his cooking school/class, praying that his dream will soon come true…
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