Tag Archives: University of Illinois at Chicago

Reflection: “What If?” Scenarios of Academia

AUTHOR NOTES: I wrote this back in 2003 for my original website. I am just reposting for prosperity.

Have you ever wonder what would life be like if something had happened when it did not? Have you ever wished that you have done something that you didn’t have the courage to do before? Have you ever wondered if relationships would have worked out if you were given a second chance? Or if you ever wanted a second chance at that friendship that you held so dear? The truth is: we all do, at one point or another. Very seldom do we allow these regrets, doubts and dedications come to light because our hearts are too big to hurt other people, or we just want to be happy with the decisions that we have made.

ACADEMIC INSTANCES – What would my life be like if I had gone somewhere else? What situations would I have changed if I thought my life would be more enjoyable because of it? The friends, the projects, the academics… the ‘What ifs’ of the schools that define my study habits and my motivations to succeed.

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Fleeting: Poking fun at Ignorance

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Below are a few stories I have that have some interconnection:

THE NGUYEN DYNASTY
Before I begin let me show you an image and news article that made me chuckle a bit a while back:

Now in case you are wondering… if you were to read the words underneath those eight student’s pictures it would have read:

We know … what … you’re … thinking … and … no, … we’re … not related.

For a bit of a history lesson, the very last monarchy to rule in Viet Nam was the Nguyen dynasty (closest English pronunciation would be wynn or win). When the Nguyen dynasty came into power in the early 1800s many of the populace promptly changed their surnames (or family names as it is more widely known at the time) to Nguyen as a way to curry favor with the monarchy or to avoid persecution.

When the last monarch of the Nguyen dynasty abdicated his seat and transferred power to the State of Viet Nam, a fair number of the population stuck with the last name of Nguyen.

I suppose the English/American equivalent to Viet Nam’s “Nguyen” would be “Smith”. If you’re still kind of confused.

What annoys me (and many others in similar situations) is the common, “oh you have this last name then you must be related to…” No, not always. So the eight girls decided to really to poke fun at the average person’s ignorance and pull a prank on their yearbook quote… and honestly I found it funny even if others might not. 🙂

Anyway, seeing the above image and reading the corresponding article(s) is what drove me to write this particular post with a little of my own experiences with racial ignorances:

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