I was born in Vietnam and moved to the U.S. when I was 8. When I was little, I always wondered why I didn't have a dad. Where is he? Maybe I was born without one. It was always me and my mom. She did what she could to raise me even though she is mentally unstable due to a tumor that she had when she was a child. I never understood why she acted the way she did or why she beat me every day to the point I grew numb to the pain. I never really knew what life was like for others; I always thought this was the norm. My mom told stories of my dad and how he was a good man, but the rest of my relatives told me he was a cold-hearted person. I never knew who to believe because when I was young, my mom was my world. She was the only person I knew. I wasn't allowed to talk to others or play with anyone. She was a good mom, but at the same time, she wasn't.

After I moved to the U.S., things got complicated. I was homeless for a while and had to enter the foster care system. This is when I saw the world from others' eyes. I saw families that I never knew could exist. I saw people who have parents, who have fathers. I was jealous of them. I remember I pretended to say that I had a dad in school because I was afraid to be left out.

Now I am 20 years old, in college, and my goal is to seek out my dad to know the truth. This has been my goal since I was a kid. I don't need much, only funds for transportation. I will find him one way or another. Anything helps, thank you.