Dear Ong Noi,

 

In my opinion, letters are the most powerful ways to receive love. At Boston College, there is a weekend for every student to get away from campus and receive letters from their friends and family, telling them how much they are loved and how much they are cared for. It teaches all of us how powerful love is, how important we are to others, and how many lives we touch. With that said, it is hard to put into words how thankful I am to you.

The importance of family is the greatest lesson you have given me. You would always have your children and grandchildren with you for holidays, and even with such a huge number of people, there was no chaos. There were so many people in a small space yet you were never overwhelmed and never upset. You just cherished the moment. Every time I looked at you, you were smiling; you were so happy to be surrounded by your family, and it makes me so thankful that you always loved to have us over at your house, for everything!

You’ve made me want to have a big family. I look around and see how happy all my aunts and uncles are and it must be such happiness to have so many successful children and to be constantly surrounded by loved ones. One day I want to have a family like our family. What I mean by that is, I want to be in your place, as Grandpa Minh or Ong Noi, with all the kids and grandkids running around the house, all laughing and playing together. Family is important, and you’ve shown me that. And because of you and my dad, I know how to show the importance of family to my kids one day.

Also, I’ve learned that hard work always pays off. Looking at you, your hard work has always paid off. The nights that you spent working those tough jobs, like with the garbage or 7/11, allowed my aunts and uncles to go to college. And you impacted them as well. You made them hard workers. My dad always tells me he studied nuclear engineering because it was the hardest. In my opinion, he worked so hard because he saw how you worked. And now he’s still working hard and studying hard! And because of this tradition of hard work, I studied computer science. I knew it would be difficult, but I also knew it would pay off in the end, as I will one day have a family that I can support and send to college. And every time I get lazy, I know just think about you and my dad, knowing how hard you both worked. I know I can do the same. We have the same blood—if you can do it, if my dad can do it, I can do it.

            Another lesson I learned from you is one of faith. You have so much faith and you passed it down not only to your kids, but also to your grandkids. You served as the perfect example of a Christian—everything I’ve seen and heard shows that you’re so selfless and so loving. The stories of starting over in America prove that. You’re never afraid to give love, even simple instances of a smile or a compliment. To me, that is the essence of Christianity: to love. It is the greatest things humans can do.

            You’ve served and will always serve as a role model for me. I look to you as an example of the person I should be. I want to be just like you. I want to have a family like you. I want my kids to be as hardworking as yours were. I want my faith to be as strong as yours.

You’ve given me so much to be proud of. I’m proud to be a Le. I’m proud to be Vietnamese. I’m proud to be a Christian. I’m proud to call you my grandpa, Ong Noi, and I promise that I will keep your legacy alive.

 

Love,

Minh

 

August 19, 2014

Raleigh, North Carolina