The Nation's Uncle

Topic: Write about a person who has greatly influenced you, explaining clearly the reasons for your choice.



The person who has tremendous influence on me is someone I have never had a chance to meet. He was my Uncle. He was the whole nation’s Uncle. He was the first President of Vietnam who led the whole nation out of the darkness of enslavement and suffering. His lessons to all Vietnamese do provide us a platform to follow in whatever we do. 



Firstly, President Ho Chi Minh taught us to be loyal to the country and devoted to the people.  He taught us this maxim by sacrificing all his life for the sake of the nation and the people. During the Vietnam War, everything he had done was not at all for his own interests such as supreme leadership or personal prosperity. It was all for the country and the people. His political lines focused at the people’s aspiration; freedom and independence. Therefore, President Ho won the people’s full support and confidence. He mobilized the whole nation to take part in the War. He convinced the people to be united and to scarify their personal interests to secure the nation’s interests. He knew that the key factor to fight against both external and internal threats was national unity. It is my belief that this decisive factor definitely could not be achieved if our President had ulterior motives rather than the country’s freedom and the people’s happiness. Indeed, he had nothing in private. He did not even have a family of his own. However, he had successfully won trust, respect and love from every Vietnamese. Vietnamese people were his greatest family. That is the reason why we all call him Uncle Ho. Thanks to Uncle, I have realised how important loyalty and devotion are. Even though I am now studying in a foreign country, I wish to be back to my home country someday, to contribute to the growth and prosperity of the nation and the people. It is simply because no matter what country I am staying in, I am forever a Vietnamese!



President Ho was a very determined man. He showed his determination at a very young age of twenty one. In 1911, he decided to travel to France to obtain knowledge, hoping to find a way to rescue the nation from years of enslavement. During his journey, he had done series of manual jobs in order to survive.  Struggled to live and study in foreign lands, he also learned a number of languages by him self and could speak them fluently. These languages included English, French and Chinese. His determination was further displayed during the Vietnam War. Who dared to think that Vietnam, such a small and weak nation, could successfully stand up against powerful countries including America? However, our President always said: “Vietnam will be unified and independent.” With a determined mind, he led the nation to the final victory, overcoming all the obstacles such as foreign aggression, famine, illiteracy on the way. His famous sayings, “We had rather died than to be enslaved,” showed his strong stand and craving for freedom. Since young, I had always remembered the lesson he taught us, which is not to despair when defeated and to fight until the final victory. The lesson, to me is indeed very useful, especially when I struggle with home and school works. Moreover, I am now working very hard to get into a prestigious university like Harvard. Perhaps, people may say that such objective is very hard to achieve. Still, I want to challenge myself and never give up until the end to fulfill my dreams.



Lastly, our Uncle was a very sentimental man. He had deep affection and pity for his people. Moments of silence for any dead revolutionaries always made him cry. Our Uncle expressed his anxiety for the people in a very simple manner: “one day of my compatriots’ suffering makes me lose my appetite and unable to sleep.” By doing so, our Uncle had taught us to love and care for others. Vietnam is opening its door to the world and developing in an amazing rate. However, there are still many poor Vietnamese who are struggling to survive. Floods occur every year, taking away the lives of many people in the Central part of Vietnam. The impacts are always devastating. Many people dies and many people suffer from starvation and trauma. Being a Vietnamese, I do want to help our fellow Vietnamese during these hard times. Along with the whole nation, I have donated money to minimize the negative impacts of all these unfortunate disasters. I know that myself alone cannot make any difference but miracle will be made if all Vietnamese stay united and lend their helping hands to those in need.



President Ho Chi Minh was such a great man. To me, he was a legend, a hero whom I can always trust and follow. It is impossible for me to be able to learn everything from him. However, I will try my best to deserve to have him my Uncle!