The 22-year-old girl returns to learn the sixth-grade alphabet.

Learning is never enough, and it's never too late. Huynh Le Nhu Quynh (residing in Tan Tao ward, Ho Chi Minh City), despite being 22 years old, overcame her shyness to return to school and repeat the 6th grade. She is determined to enter university before the age of 30.

Nhu Quynh decided to return to 6th grade at the age of 22 - Photo: AN VI

Ring ring ring... The school bell rang at the Vocational Education and Continuing Education Center in District 6. Groups of students rushed into the classroom, while Nhu Quynh, with her mature and composed appearance, quietly followed behind, searching for her lessons.

At 22 years old, he's repeating 6th grade.

At 22, while her peers were sitting in their final year of university contemplating their future, Nhu Quynh was still struggling with the sixth-grade math problems she had left unfinished for years.

Quynh's life is like a series of difficult math problems. Having lost both parents at a young age, she had to solve the problem of making a living on her own after her grandmother fell ill and passed away, leaving her alone in the city.

But for Quynh, the most difficult challenge she has just begun to face is the "getting back to school" problem. "My decision to go back to school was very simple. I usually study at home, read a lot, and I also love to write. Sometimes I struggle with parts I don't understand while reading, and when writing, I'm unsure about spelling and grammar... So I decided I had to go back to school," Quynh said emotionally as she recounted her decision to return to school.

At first glance, seeing Quynh alongside the sixth-grade students, many might think she's a parent visiting the school or... a teacher. In reality, beneath her coat is a perfectly fitting school uniform, and her bag contains sixth-grade textbooks that she should have been using 10 years ago.

We met Quynh in class while we were studying computer science. The class had over 40 students, and the 22-year-old girl was the easiest to spot because her appearance was distinctly different from the youngest students, who were only a little over 10 years old, sitting alongside her.

Dark circles were clearly visible around Quynh's eyes due to staying up late for school and waking up early for work. Since resuming school, Quynh often stayed up very late to finish the assignments she had abandoned many years ago.

When she was in school, Quynh didn't smile much. We rarely saw her smile, but her eyes still held a hidden meaning, lacking the innocence of her classmates in class 6C.

Despite having no family or as much free time as her classmates, Quỳnh feels fortunate to have the opportunity to study.

Recalling the moment she decided to return to school, Quynh said she hesitated a lot. Her only baggage was fear: fear of not being able to absorb the lessons anymore, fear of being teased by her friends, fear of not being able to manage her time...

"When I stood in front of the school, my eyes welled up with tears. My steps weren't as strong as I thought, because I was afraid of myself, afraid I wouldn't be able to afford tuition for the coming years when I quit my main job to study. But I love my dream, I love learning, so at this point I won't back down anymore," Quỳnh affirmed, stating that she will still go to school, even if it means working harder and more difficult.

Quynh also envisioned the worst-case scenario: she might sell platelets to earn money for living expenses and tuition, or work odd jobs like washing dishes... "I have to try to get into university before I turn 30," Quynh said with determination, because it wasn't just a goal, but the biggest dream of her life.

Quynh's handwriting was shaky due to a long period of interruption in her studies.

My childhood involved collecting scrap metal and selling lottery tickets with my grandmother.

Quynh's childhood was unique, as evidenced by her decision to repeat the 6th grade at the age of 22. Born without a father, her mother remarried and sent her to live with her maternal grandmother. The two relied on each other in a cramped rented room in the former Binh Thanh district.

Every day, Quynh accompanies her grandmother through the alleys selling lottery tickets and collecting scrap metal. The money they earn is barely enough to cover rent and food, sometimes enough to eat, sometimes not. On some nights when they run out of money, the two of them go to the market to pick up wilted vegetables that people have left behind, gathering them to cook a meal to get through the day.

In those difficult times, her grandmother's only wish was for her granddaughter to go to school. So, after a long day of hard work to make a living, Quynh would carry her books to her evening supplementary classes.

"Back then, I studied at Thanh My Tay school, and sometimes I felt so sad because my friends were picked up and dropped off by their parents, wearing pretty uniforms, while I went to school alone. I didn't understand why I had to study at night; I just went because my grandmother told me to," Quynh confided, her eyes welling up with tears.

But the joys of school were short-lived. Quỳnh's grandmother suffered a stroke, leaving her paralyzed on one side of her body. Unable to work, she had to seek refuge in a Buddhist temple. At that time, Quỳnh had only finished fifth grade, and the burden of making a living fell entirely on the shoulders of this frail 11-year-old girl. Thus, her education became an unfulfilled dream, a nightly struggle to provide for the family.

The girl struggled to make ends meet, doing all sorts of jobs from helping out at restaurants, serving coffee, working at a fried chicken counter, helping sell Vietnamese pancakes... With a monthly salary of only a few million dong, she still carefully saved a portion to send to the temple so her grandmother could have some medicine.

When her grandmother passed away, Quỳnh was taken in and cared for by her kind cousin.

"When I first arrived, she held my hand and carefully guided me in writing each letter, correcting every spelling mistake. She also taught me math and English. Living with her, I was provided with accommodation and meals. As for eating out or taking care of myself, I had to manage on my own. I also helped with housework, electricity, and water bills to ease her burden," Quỳnh recounted.

As she entered adulthood, Quynh began to explore new paths. She utilized social media to find work, taking on various jobs from small-scale sales to working as a store or supermarket employee. Thanks to her accumulated skills and eloquent communication abilities, Quynh boldly tried her hand at a product marketing position.

It was a step forward she never expected, after a childhood of hardship, struggling to make a living barefoot on the sidewalks every day.

Looking back on her journey, Quynh admits there were times when she felt like giving up, and the loneliness of not having parents always weighed heavily on her. Thanks to her grandmother's love, she learned to be strong. Quynh always tells herself that every difficulty is just a problem, a test to solve and help her grow.

Despite the many challenges ahead, Quỳnh's eyes always shine with hope. That hope is nurtured by her difficult childhood, by her grandmother's kindness, by her first hesitant steps on the path to making a living, and by her unwavering desire to learn.

The 22-year-old girl is easily recognizable among the students at the school - Photo: AN VI

Ms. Dang Ngoc Thu, Director of the Vocational Education and Continuing Education Center of District 6, said that when the school received Nhu Quynh's application to attend school, they greatly appreciated her eagerness to learn.

"Quynh's struggles and her thirst for knowledge are typical of many students at our center. Quynh's learning ability may not be as fast as her peers, but I believe her determination is undeniable," added Ms. Dang Ngoc Thu.

On the school's side, Ms. Thu affirmed that the teachers always create the most favorable conditions for students to learn in a good, safe environment, providing maximum support so that their studies are not hindered.

In addition, the school always provides scholarships to disadvantaged students like Như Quỳnh, giving them more motivation and financial resources to continue pursuing their dreams.

"We also hope that in the coming time, Quynh will make even more effort to fulfill her academic dreams," Ms. Thu added.

When feeling tired, Quynh often writes a few lines of poetry to encourage herself: "Golden autumn leaves, white uniform, clear eyes / Ten years of learning, a hundred years of becoming a person."

For her, studying is just a short journey, but it will change her entire life. This might be normal for many other students, but for Quynh, it's a great joy because at the age of 22, she gets to go back to sixth grade.

NGOC SANG - AN VI

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/co-gai-tuoi-22-tro-lai-tim-con-chu-lop-6-20250926100554374.htm