10 Awesome Quotes That Could Change Your Life

We all look for motivation from others who’ve been there and done that. These are the wise words that mean a lot to me and have helped shape my life in so many ways. I’d like to share them with you and hopefully they will unleash your inner strengths too. Enjoy!

1. “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” Mark Twain.

2. “It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.” – Tony Robbins

3. “The sun shines down, and its image reflects in a thousand different pots filled with water. The reflections are many, but they are each reflecting the same sun. Similarly, when we come to know who we truly are, we will see ourselves in all people.” ~ Ammachi

4. “Admit it. You aren’t like them. You’re not even close. You may occasionally dress yourself up as one of them, watch the same mindless television shows as they do, maybe even eat the same fast food sometimes. But it seems that the more you try to fit in, the more you feel like an outsider, watching the “normal people” as they go about their automatic existences. For every time you say club passwords like “Have a nice day” and “Weather’s awful today, eh?”, you yearn inside to say forbidden things like “Tell me something that makes you cry” or “What do you think deja vu is for?”. Face it, you even want to talk to that girl in the elevator. But what if that girl in the elevator (and the balding man who walks past your cubicle at work) are thinking the same thing? Who knows what you might learn from taking a chance on conversation with a stranger? Everyone carries a piece of the puzzle. Nobody comes into your life by mere coincidence. Trust your instincts. Do the unexpected. Find the others…” ― Timothy Leary

5. “Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” Francis of Assisi

6. “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Lao Tzu

7. “If you don’t like how things are, change it! You’re not a tree.” Jim Rohn

8. “There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” Nelson Mandela

9. “Speak your mind even if your voice shakes.” Maggie Kuhn

10. “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Love and peace

Binh

March 18, 2015March 18, 2015

A Day in the Life of a Speech Pathologist

“My mission in life is to help as many people as possible with speaking, reading and confidence.”

Good morning,

It’s time to grab some breakfast: multigrain toast with scrambled eggs. I’m getting some energy for a busy day ahead.

8 AM. Feeling awesome and preparing therapy materials for my clients. It’s time to get creative and tailor various activities according to their needs.

First up, I’m helping an adult who has been diagnosed with speech apraxia. We’re working on the consonants R, V and TH to increase the clarity of their speech. Lots of practice to strengthen those neurological pathways for speech and coordination.

Next up, 2 Accent Training clients who happen to work on one of the hardest sounds of English – the TH sound. It isn’t easy to place the tongue in between the teeth to make the sound, but we manage to say our words (e.g., the, think….) and even practice them in phrase and sentences. We also practice word, phrase and sentence stress at the conversation level. A Toobaloo, a mirror and a set of teeth are used regularly to give my clients auditory, visual and tactile feedback, assisting their pronunciation and helping them to articulate various sounds correctly and clearly.

1 PM. Having lunch in the sun at a local cafe.

After lunch, I meet up with a 3-year-old who used to be non-verbal. This client can now speak in phrases and sentences and can also follow simple instructions. Fantastic! I was given some Easter eggs too.

Next, I’m working with a young client who has problem articulating various sounds such as the SK cluster (e.g., school, ski….). We start with some listening exercises and then proceed onto single words. The pirate game helps a lot when it comes to providing positive reinforcement.

At the end of the day, 2 High School students come to work on their reading and spelling. We have so much fun learning and practicing these skills.

The day has ended on a positive note. I am exhausted but feel so thankful to be working in an area that I’m absolutely passionate about: speaking, language and literacy.

Thank you for reading. Hope this blog gives you an idea of what it’s like to be a Speech Pathologist.

Until then, be happy and healthy.

Binh

March 17, 2015

The MIA

MIAs set you up to win!

Life can be busy and we can easily lose track of things. Sometimes, instead of focussing on the list of things to do, it’s better to take 1 or 2 most important actions that will bring us closer to achieving our goals.

MIA = Most Important Action

“MIAs can give you massive leverage in time, finance and freedom, even if you ignored everything else.” – Natalie Sisson

ONE Most Important Action that I am going to take in the next 15 days (and for the rest of 2015) is to tell as many people about “Accent Training” as possible.

At 15, I came to Australia speaking English with a strong accent. Over the years, I’ve been lucky to learn from my local friends/family and train myself to speak clearly. My mission is to help immigrants, just like myself, speak clearly and integrate into the Australian culture. This way, other aspects of their lives can also be improved such as social relationships and career.

My dream for 2015 is to help at least 100 people improve their accent.

What’s your MIA for the next 15 days?

Please feel free to comment and share your thoughts.

Thank you,

Binh

March 16, 2015

The Hour of Power – Morning ritual

Do you have a morning ritual? How do you set yourself up to have an awesome day?

Here is my morning ritual or The Hour of Power to get me started.

The alarm goes off. It’s time to get out of bed. In order to set myself up to win, I have to be ready physically and mentally. Here are 6 things that I do on a regular basis:

1. Have a big glass of warm water with a few slices of lemon. This will help alkalize my body after a long night sleep.

2. Spend 10-20 minutes on a rebounder, getting the blood pumping and waking myself up.

3. Make a green juice and drink it all up, throw in some spinach, celery, cucumber, kale and ginger. Outcome: alkalizing effects on the body.

4. Practice thankfulness: think of all the things that I’m thankful for such as the air that I breathe, my family, colleagues and friends. There’s always something to be thankful for.

5. Meditate and do my breathing exercise: sit in silence and breathe in (8 seconds), hold (32 seconds) and breathe out (16 seconds). The body needs a lot of oxygen and therefore this exercise is crucial.

6. Incantations: repeat to myself 3 positive affirmations.

“All I need is within me now and I have the courage to see it through.”

“Every day and in every way, I’m getting better and better;
Every day and in every way, I’m getting stronger and stronger.”

“I love my life and I am so blessed.”

So there it is – my morning ritual. Everyone is different and you should create one that suits your needs. Comments are always welcome!

Be happy and healthy.

Binh

December 31, 2014November 29, 2022

2014 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 1,800 times in 2014. If it were a cable car, it would take about 30 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

August 13, 2014June 3, 2015

8 Tips to Successfully Learn a Language

Arrived in Brisbane, Australia, at the age of 15 (from Saigon), I was absolutely excited, until I asked someone for directions to get to a destination – at the time, due to my foreign accent, turned out to be “Could you show me the way to the b*tch?”. They looked at me all puzzled, unsure of what I was trying to say! A picture of the Gold Coast was helpful in this instance as they now realized that I tried to find my way to one of the most beautiful beaches in Australia. Boom, that was the moment when I thought to myself, “How can I improve my English, change my accent and speak like a local?”. I had to quickly find a way to learn the Aussie lingo. It was tough as I could only comprehend approximately 10% of what was said in any conversation. I was also shy to speak in a public situation, just in case I’d be laughed at.

The Gold Coast, QLD, Australia

Traveling to a new place and speaking the local language will give you an advantage. Firstly, it will break the ice and people will warm up to you as you’re obviously making an effort to communicate. I’ve learnt to never say “Can you speak English?” in a non-English speaking country as that, in my opinion, is kinda disrespectful. For example, if I’m in China, where the most common dialect is Mandarin, then why would I expect a local to speak English? Instead, saying “Ni hao!” will definitely make them smile and open up to a conversation. Secondly, speaking the local language will make you feel like you actually belong to the place, instead of feeling like a stranger.

Over the years, I have accumulated some valuable experience on how to effectively learn a language and I’d like to share these tips with you.

The acronym DISCOVER will help you remember these tips. It stands for Dive into it, Interests, Search, Copy, Observe, Venture out, Explore and Rehearse.

Dive into it: The best way to learn a language is to start speaking it whenever and wherever you can. Most of us are afraid of making mistakes. Keep in mind that it’s perfect to be perfectly imperfect. Making mistakes is the best way to learn. I got into trouble a few times for saying “Let’s go to the b*tch!” instead of “Let’s go to the beach!” because I couldn’t tell the difference between the vowel sounds. Luckily, my best friend in High School used to help me out. At least we had a good laugh about it.

Interests: What are your interests? Soccer, tennis, reading, art, dance…whatever it is, find an interest group where you can spend your time with like-minded people. My English improved “dramatically” after joining a drama class in High School.

Search: Not sure what a word or a common phrase mean? Nowadays, it is a privilege to have a smart phone or a tablet as you can search for any word you want in a dictionary. It’s a good way to look things up instantly when you need to. Back in the 90’s, I used to carry a small dictionary with me everywhere I went. Technology has changed the way we learn languages. Why not use it for your advantage?

Having a great time speaking French in summer 2010, Paris.

Copy: Have you ever observed a child learn a language? He/she will constantly repeat what is said by other people. They imitate the pronunciation and the words in a given situation. Later on, they learn to generalize and use them in other situations. I used to ask my Aussie friends to repeat their words so I could copy them. It might be difficult at first, and the more you do this, the more confident you’ll be at speaking.

Observe: Practice paying attention to detail with your eyes and ears. How does a local pronounce a word, a phrase, a sentence, and in what intonation and situation? Keep on observing. The more you watch, the more you will absorb the information and learn. You don’t always have to speak. Just listen, and observe.

Venture out: As humans, we’re attracted to people that come from the same place as we do because they share the same culture and language. We like spending time with them, talking about similar things, and speaking the same language. This is good for personal relationships, but not good for your language learning. Break out of that comfort zone. Spend time with people who can speak the language that you’re learning. You will learn faster this way.

Absolutely fascinated by Italian. I love this language!

Explore: One of the best ways to learn a language is to go where it is spoken. Immerse yourself in an environment where you have no other choice but speaking the language, from ordering food to asking for directions. Australia has been a fantastic place where I can practice my English daily!

Love speaking my mother tongue every time I’m back in Vietnam.

Rehearse: Keep on listening, repeating and writing a word, a phrase, a sentence until you feel confidence in knowing how to use them in the right context. Remember, practice makes progress!

All the best with your language learning. Thank you for reading and please feel free to contact me if you have any further questions. I’m more than happy to answer them.

This is how much I could write after a few weeks of learning Spanish. Follow the above tips and you can too!

Until next time, keep on learning!

Binh

For more information on Binh and his passion with helping people with their communication, reading and confidence, go to http://www.speakable.com.au

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June 18, 2014June 19, 2014

Unleash the Dragon – The Great Wall Marathon

Ever since I was a kid, I had always been fascinated by the Great Wall of China. Why did they build it? Who built it? How long did it take? Can you really see it from space? What would it be like to walk on? and was it built to keep the rabbits out? (simply explained in a commercial advert back in the 90’s) lol

In January 2014, I came across this awesome Marathon Trailer and it ignited that burning desire in me to travel to China.

I started training vigorously. Mind you, the longest distance that I’d ever run was the City to Surf (from Sydney CBD to Bondi Beach – 14 km). So this would be my first marathon ever. Apart from training the body, I also trained the mind to stay calm in difficult situations by practicing yoga regularly.

McElhone Stairs – Potts Point and the Blue Mountains were the places where I did most of my training for the stairs. The rest was around the local areas and on the treadmill.

13/05/14 Leaving for Beijing, feeling very excited and nervous!

14/05/14

Met the most amazing and inspiring group of runners from all over Australia

Photo: @ Tiananmen Square

15/05/14

Inspection Day – up early and caught a bus for 2 hours from Beijing to inspect the wall. We walked 3 km on the wall to get used to the structure and to see what we were up against! I was absolutely enthralled by the beauty of this manmade structure. We were notified that there would be over 2000 participants on race day. WOW!

17/05/14 RACE DAY

Rise and shine at 3:30 AM. Took a bus to the section of the wall (2 hours from Beijing) for the 7:30 AM start. It was freezing cold and dark!!!

The atmosphere was amazing!

With Paul, Laura, Erin & Myriam

Was lucky to run alongside these most athletic ladies from Brisbane, Erin & Donna

Before the race with the awesome Myriam

….and the happy Laura, who was cheering and taking photos before I took off! Getting very nervous now!!!

1,2, 3…….GOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

After running for 5 km up the hill, I finally reached the entrance of the Great Wall

The moment we’d all been waiting for…. Man, it was steep and those steps were so uneven. Lucky it was a cool and sunny day and I didn’t sweat too much at this stage.

Off the wall and into the villages….the locals were so warm and welcoming, saying hi to us along the way!

….and into the valley….At this stage, my left knee started to hurt, which forced me to walk and run at a slower pace.

Still had time to take a selfie 🙂

….Had been downing over 15 bottles of water and 3 bananas…gotta keep going….

…31 km already? I’ve made it this far? No way!!!

11 km to go. Gotta get going! Back into the wall for the second time for all the full marathon runners. At this stage, I could only drag myself by pulling on the hand rail, one or two step at a time. The left knee was hurting badly, so I needed to straighten the left leg whenever I went down the steps. The view was stunning from above.

“I’ve made it this far. Don’t give up now.”

Very exhausted! It was approximately 2 pm at this stage. I’d been running/walking/dragging for over 6 hours now. Still had to get out of the wall, and down the hill for 5 km before reaching the Finish line. “I can do this!!!!”

Regardless of the sore knee, I got out of the wall and slowly ran/walked down the hill for 5 km before reaching the end.

Almost there!!! 1 km to go!!!

Spending some time at this sign, 42 km, thinking, my goal has been reached!!! It was an uplifting and happy feeling. I got a bit emotional!

…ran to the finish line and discovered that my teammates were still there waiting to cheer for me after all this time. They’d been standing there for as long as I’d been running. I was SO THANKFUL, and with all the energy that I had left, ran to the FINISH LINE.

EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE WHEN YOU BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!

I’m dedicating this journey to my beloved parents, my family, my life coaching team, sponsors and supporters and to all the new friends that I’ve made during the marathon. Thank you for your love and support.

A massive THANK YOU to the Felicity Kent & Angela Everett from Travelling Fit for their commitment, effort and organisation from the beginning until the end of the trip. They definitely made everything so much easier for us while in China. Thank you guys, you truly are amazing! For more information on Travelling Fit, go to http://www.travellingfit.com/home/.aspx

Also, thank you Adventure Marathon for creating this great marathon. For more information go to http://www.adventure-marathon.com/default.aspx

See you at the next race, wherever that may be 🙂

Binh

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March 25, 2014March 25, 2014

10% vs 90%

“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” – Charles R Swindoll

This is true!

Ten years ago, I graduated from uni. Five years of hard work, where would my Master of Speech Pathology take me? It’s a scary wide world out there!

Unlike some classmates, there was no job lined up for me. I came from Vietnam and was on a student visa, which would expire in 6 months’ time after the graduation. My possession was a credit card with a limit of $1000 and less than $500 in my savings account. My parents and big sister had kindly paid for my tuition fees and living expenses throughout most of my uni life, and so I didn’t want to burden them with my issues. I was a big boy and it was time for me to take the full responsibility for my own life.

Up to this point in time, I’d been in Brisbane, Australia, for 8 years and fell in love with the place. I decided to stay. But how?

First thing first, I needed a job to survive. In order to work legally, a working visa was required. A company would have to sponsor me, or I could apply for Permanent Residency. I chose the second option, and at the same time, sent my job application to as many job advertisers as I could.

My beloved Mitsubishi Magna

At this time, I had already moved out of the unit where I used to live with my friend, Megan. We both graduated from the same uni. All I had was my 11 year-old Misubishi Magna, my books and some clothes. A friend of mine offered me his couch until I could find my own place. I was truly thankful.

With my awesome housemate, Megan, on graduation day, Dec 2003

To fill in time and make some cash, I found a casual waiting position at a local restaurant. Due to my visa conditions, I could only work up to 20 hours a week. I got paid $10/hr. The amount that I made went towards paying for food, petrol and emergency savings.

January 2004 – I finally got a phone interview for a job in Melbourne. That was my first ever interview which didn’t go so well as I was way too nervous. Two weeks later, I received an “I will keep your records on file.” letter. Still, I didn’t want to give up.

Another job interview came up. This time, it was in Port Macquarie (PM), which was 6 hours drive from Brisbane. I was extremely excited, jumped in the car and made a road trip to PM. The interview went well. The Senior Speech Pathologist rang me the following day to offer me the job. I was over the moon, jumping up and down around the house like a lunatic. However, there was one problem. My bridging/working visa hadn’t come through yet. The job was handed over to someone else.

The process of job hunting continued. Ideally, I would want a job in Sydney as I had visited this vibrant city once before and actually liked its beaches and the Opera House. It’d been 3 months after my graduation and I was still working at the local restaurant. For some reason, I had a feeling that something good was going to happen quite soon!

…And one day in March 2004, the bridging visa came through. It was finally eligible for me to work in Australia. Ironically, I still hadn’t had a job.

Early April 2004, I received a phone call from Sydney. A Speech Pathologist named Kate was impressed with my resume and she wondered if I could come to have a face-to-face interview. I jumped at the opportunity and said that I would be happy to see her by the end of the week, on Friday. This time, I was determined to drive to Sydney on Thursday, and stay there until I got a job, any job, regardless of the outcome for this interview. Wednesday night, as I was driving home from work, the car started to make some strange sounds, and then stopped in the middle of a highway. There was smoke coming from the bonnet. I got freaked out. The first thought that came into my mind was, “Damn, I need to be in Sydney by Friday morning. Without the car, how am I going to make it to the interview? Why is this happening? And why now?!”. While I was sitting there thinking of a solution, NRMA turned up to tow Mr Mitsubishi to the nearest automobile, which happened to be KMart at the time. I later found out from the mechanic that it would cost over $700 and would take a week to fix the problem. I was devastated.

I went home and sat in silence for awhile. “What am I going to do? There has got to be a solution…..This isn’t going to stop me!!!”

“Right!” – I jumped online and used my credit card to book a return ticket to Sydney, arriving early Friday morning. “Whatever it takes, I have got to get to the interview.”

Friday morning – I caught the earliest flight to Sydney and then caught a train to Campbelltown, where the Speech Pathology clinic was located. I met Kate and performed the best that I could at my first face-to-face interview. At the end of our conversation, Kate said that she would call the next day to let me know whether I’d got the job.

I spent Friday night in a hostel in Glebe. “Did I get the job? Just have to wait and see!”

Saturday morning – While having MacDonald’s with one of my childhood friend, Thao, who was studying in Sydney at the time, my mobile rang. I looked at Thao and said: “Here we go!”. I answered the phone. It was Kate. “Congratulations, Binh. I was very impressed with you and just so you know, the job is yours! When can you start?”. I was stoked and almost choked on my burger! I couldn’t believe it. Really? Me? I’m moving to Sydney, to work, as a Speech Pathologist?!

Dreams do come true after all!

I flew back to Brisbane, got my car fixed, said goodbye to my friends and my boss at the restaurant, and drove to Sydney a week later.

..And that’s how my life in Sydney started.

The journey was long and there were hiccups along the way, but “giving up” was NEVER an option.

We don’t have any control over external mishaps. We, however, have control over HOW we react to these circumstances.

Here is the lesson that I’ve learnt:

Have a clear goal
Stick with that goal
When mishaps happen, asking ‘Why is this happening to me?’ isn’t going to help. Asking ‘How am I going to deal with this problem?’ will definitely display some options for a solution.
Take massive action to achieve desirable outcomes
Have faith in yourself
Use all the resources that you have available to help you reach that goal
Most importantly, be thankful for everything. When you come out the other end and survive, you will be a stronger person.

23 years old, In Sydney, finally

Woohoooooo the Opera House!!

“Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit.” – Napolean Hill

Thank you for reading. Love and peace to you.

Binh

I’m currently writing an E-book on how to be yourself and be happy. Please fill out your details in the contact form below and you will be notified when the book is ready!

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March 5, 2014March 11, 2014

Why did I live below the line?

“Every 3 seconds, a child dies completely unnecessarily as a result of extreme poverty …The thing is, all these deaths are avoidable..” if we take proper steps to raise awareness and act to end poverty.

During the Vietnam war, my grandparents and parents grew up in poverty. As I was told, life was extremely tough. Mum used to help her parents sell “banh beo” (a traditional Vietnamese dish) on the street. Dad sold knick-knacks and did a number of odd jobs hear and there throughout his childhood to help support his family. Both of my parents went to school but did not have an opportunity to attend college. When they met and got married, my parents decided to work hard to send my siblings and I to school to get an education, and hopefully, we would have a better future. I would not be the person I am today if it wasn’t because of them. To my parents, education is the key to overcome poverty.

On 6-10 May, 2013, together with thousands of other Australians, I took on a challenge of feeding on $2/day, for 5 days, to fundraise for The Oaktree Foundation. The funds that we raised helped renovate schools, train teachers and provide education opportunities for thousands of young people in East Timor, Cambodia and Papua New Guinea. I never thought it would even be possible to eat on $2/day in a developed country like Australia. The fact is, almost half the world – over 3 billion people, live on less than $2;50 a day!

Here is my journal of Live Below the Line (LBL) 2013:

Sunday night before the LBL week: it’s time to go shopping.

My budget of $10 Australian dollars for the week’s grocery: a loaf of white bread, 5 eggs, 3 apples, 2 oranges, and 2 cans of tuna. I didn’t think it was possible to buy all this food for $10.

Day 1’s breakfast: simple and full of protein

Day 2, 3 and 4’s breakfast, lunch & dinner. The budget of $2/day could only stretch so far when it came to hunting for a bargain. I felt hungry throughout the day/night and found it hard to concentrate on work. There were coffee withdrawal symptoms too (as I used to have one coffee per day) ! Dinner = 50 cents = Mi goreng + 1 egg. Imagine the children who have to go to school on an empty stomach because their family cannot afford to buy food. It must be very hard to focus on schoolwork.

Day 5: Boiling my last egg in a cup at work (no access to a stove). Today was the last day for Live Below the Line and I felt great, knowing that tomorrow I would be able to eat proper and nutritious food. However, this is not the case for many people who have to battle extreme poverty everyday not knowing when it’s going to end.

Having lunch with my friend, Angelica Casado, who was also doing LBL.

At the end of the challenge, I was able to raise over $600 for the Oaktree Foundation. LBL had taught me a number of valuable lessons:

-Anything can taste SO good when you’re hungry

-With some creativity, $2 can go a long way

-Never waste food/water

-Appreciate an abundance of foods/beverages available in Australia

-Look at life from a different perspective and appreciate the little things in life

If you’re looking to make a difference in the lives of those living in extreme poverty, why not join the Live Below the Line challenge this year on 5 – 9 May 2014.

For more information, go to:

https://www.livebelowtheline.com.au/

“One must be poor to know the luxury of giving.” – George Eliot

Thank you for reading and please feel free to comment.

Love and peace to you.

Binh

I’m currently writing an E-book on how to be yourself and be happy. Please fill out your details in the contact form below and you will be notified when the book is ready!

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February 26, 2014February 24, 2023

Come out, Come out, Whoever you are

I’m gay, and proud of it!

I was born in Saigon, Vietnam. Only about a decade ago, if a guy acted in a feminine way, he would be laughed at and/or given a well-known label, “bê đê” (a Vietnamese word that has its French origin meaning: fag). The term was commonly used. It could easily hurt someone’s feelings and lower their self-esteem. I certainly had this experience ever since the age of 4.

Being the youngest in a family of 4 children, I found myself spending more time with my 2 older sisters playing with dolls, tea sets and dress up.

My brother, who was on the opposite end of the spectrum, participated in all the boyish and adventurous activities e.g., football, karate, running around with bare feet… I admired him for that as he was much loved by the kids in the neighbourhood and my relatives.

I, on the other hand, was known to be the quiet one who was good at art, singing, dancing and literature. Most of my close friends were girls and I found them to be easy to talk to as we shared common interests.

As a result, I was automatically placed in a “different” category and name-calling was not an exception. I went through my childhood feeling attracted to the same sex. I thought that it was just a stage of development that would pass in time. I even thought that, when I grew up, I would get married and have kids just like everyone else.

At 15, I was not doing well in school. I used to be at the top of my class in Primary school. However, for some reason, my grades were lower than expected as I became older.

At the end of year 10, I asked my parents if I could leave Saigon to study in Brisbane, Australia. At the time, my parents were successful entrepreneurs and so I was lucky to be flown to Brisbane, where I finished my High School and Tertiary education.

Growing up with my Christian beliefs, I used to tell myself that “homosexuality is a sin”. I kept the secret to myself until I was 21 when I met my first boyfriend at a social gathering. That was one of the happiest moments of my life.

Living in an open-minded country like Australia allowed me to be myself. I made new friends to whom I came out, and they had offered me a tremendous amount of support.

Throughout my teenage years into adulthood, I was not around my family and therefore they did not know much about my “other life”.

My parents often tried to match-make me with a nice girl every time I came back to visit them in Saigon. I often kept quiet about my lifestyle in Australia as knowing the truth could potentially disappoint my family.

I then moved to Sydney where my second relationship took place. Up to this point, I’d never had a girlfriend. People often questioned my sexuality. I was fed up with social expectations.

I decided to come out to my siblings. To my surprise, they’d known for quite awhile now. They would still love me regardless of my sexual orientation. Pheww! What a relief to know that I was very much loved and supported by my brother and sisters.

The next step was to tell my parents. I often avoided the question of marriage.

Until one day, my Mum directly asked me: “Binh, as you’re older now, it’s time to think about finding the right girl and getting married…”. I thought to myself, this is the moment.

So I replied, “Mum, I’m interested in men.”. Mum did not respond or appear angry. She remained calm but did not look at me.

I turned to my Dad and said: “I’m sure you guys know!”. He said: “Yes! We’ve known about this for awhile…and at this stage, I don’t think it really matters. We are open-minded and as long as you’re happy, that’s all we care about!”.

I was in tears. That was much easier than I thought.

Both of my parents passed away not long after that due to terminal illnesses.

I’m glad that I came out to them as they are my parents and have the right to know.

One might think she/he has to be ready to come out. In my opinion, it is a progressive process which involves a number of small steps that should be considered in order to achieve the ultimate goal:

1. Come out to yourself: Get to know yourself well: your strengths, weaknesses, interests and sexual orientation. Accept and love yourself for who you are because at the end of the day, you have to live with yourself for the rest of your life.

2. Come out to your close friends: Coming out to your close friends is a good place to start. Some will be happy for you. Some will be confused. Some will get upset. Just come out anyway! You will at least receive much-needed support.

3. Come out to your siblings: If you have siblings, come out to them. Like it or not, they are related to you by blood and they might want to know the truth. You’re now a step closer to telling your parents!

4. Come out to your parents: This can be the biggest challenge! Take a plunge and tell them when the right moment comes e.g., when they ask you about your relationship status or suggest that you get a BF or GF. You will feel so much better afterwards. Parents often have great expectations of their kids and some will find it hard to accept the truth. Time will tell if they are able to live with this truth or not.

5. Come out to the world: Now that you’ve gone through all of the previous steps (remember, it doesn’t have to be in that particular order), it’s time to come out to the world and let them know how proud you are to be yourself

While “hiding” in the closet, I missed out on a chance to “seek” my truth.

By coming out, I am being true to myself and others and live a happier life. Coming out is hard, but not coming out is even harder.

Be true to yourself. Be happy.

Love and peace to you.

Binh

Binh Doan

Posts

10 Awesome Quotes That Could Change Your Life

A Day in the Life of a Speech Pathologist

The MIA

The Hour of Power – Morning ritual

2014 in review

8 Tips to Successfully Learn a Language

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Unleash the Dragon – The Great Wall Marathon

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10% vs 90%

“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” – Charles R Swindoll

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Why did I live below the line?

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Come out, Come out, Whoever you are