The journey of applying to Fulbright must have taken the students through a myriad of different emotional states.

Excitement, embarrassment, nostalgia, ennui, anxiety, fear, sadness or envy – all these emotions are worthy of being embraced and cherished. With these emotions, the journey to Fulbright of Class 2028 becomes more vibrant and memorable.

Let’s learn about the heartfelt stories of Class 2028 students about the emotions that accompanied them during the process of applying to Fulbright!

Excitement – Phuong Thao

From a young age, I had “dreamed” of studying in a Liberal Arts education environment, an “open” university with many new friends from different regions. Fulbright came into my life when I was looking for a way to reach that dream.

I had prepared and planned carefully for the application, so I was always confident and full of excitement throughout the application period. I found friends who shared the same aspirations, learned more about Liberal Arts education, gained a lot of knowledge from participating in extracurricular activities. Especially, I gained the experience of writing essays from morning to night, “eating and sleeping” with unfinished drafts.

I got to sit back and review the “footage” of my own vibrant youth. I feel that I have truly succeeded, as I had enough determination, ambition and passion to go all the way, complete the application and secure a place in the beloved school that I had always dreamed of.

My path to Fulbright is an “exciting” journey of the child within me – a child eager to learn and full of exploratory energy. Fortunately, when I excitedly rushed into Fulbright, Fulbright also welcomed me with all its enthusiasm and appreciation.

Fulbright, I’m ready. I love Fulbright so much, how about you?

Envy – Hong Phuc

Before knowing about Fulbright, I was always anxious because I couldn’t clearly determine which university environment was right for me. Due to this anxiety, I started preparing and searching for opportunities early on. I asked myself: “Who am I?”, “What have I accomplished?”, “What unique and special stories do I have?” Along with that, I spent time writing down even my most random thoughts. Who knows, it might help me understand myself better, right?

During the journey of completing the admissions application, the most distinctive emotion for me was certainly envy. I was endlessly envious because all my peers seemed so talented, doing everything with passion, seriousness, and enthusiasm.

“If only…”

“I wish…”

At that time, I wished I had something in common with them. I was so envious that I doubted my own efforts.

However, becoming familiar with the feeling of envy motivated me to become more disciplined and put more effort into studying, self-improvement, and expanding relationships in my final year. I learned to transform envy into motivation for myself.

Looking back, I see the risk I took when I put all my eggs in the Fulbright basket. I also feel lucky for this gamble and excited to become a student of Class 2028. In the final month before hitting the submit button on the application, I focused entirely on looking back, synthesizing, and reminiscing about many things to include in my essay – where I recounted experiences, perspectives, lessons learned, and my direction.

Even now, I still have mixed emotions about the journey I’ve been through and for what’s to come. However, I believe Fulbright will be a container for many new emotions and experiences for me!

Ennui – Giang My

My journey to Fulbright was sometimes accompanied by moments when I felt… ennuied. I had almost given up in the final days before the application deadline, as I was worried that I wasn’t outstanding enough and felt uncertain about my future. It was a time when my peers had already made their university choices and found their destinations, while I hadn’t yet.

I was overwhelmed by everything happening around me and enveloped by a feeling of ennui. Fortunately, in those final moments, I had my family’s support and encouragement to motivate me to pick myself up and complete the application. I realized that feeling ennuied allowed me to pause for a moment, take time to reflect, and regain confidence to move forward.

Fulbright came to me like destiny, without any prior planning. At times I still hesitated, but when I set foot in Fulbright, the environment here showed me the importance of embracing differences, daring to think and act, and expressing one’s own unique colors.

At this point, a new emotion crept into me: nostalgia. I felt nostalgic about the journey I had been through, the moments from the past, the things I had strived to achieve, so that I wouldn’t have any regrets.

Nostalgia – Dac Vong

My journey of applying to Fulbright was a memorable time filled with many experiences. It was a period when I got to reflect and ponder on the things I had been through during my growth journey. My preparation began with sleepless nights of contemplation and sticky notes scattered all over the walls. Everything was like a film reel rewinding the memories of my life.

I recalled the memories between my mother and me, grateful for her resilience and everything she had done for me. I remember one time during a mock interview with my “mentor”, she asked a question about my mother. I opened up to her, not knowing that my mother was behind me, listening to everything I shared. I was so happy; although I didn’t say it directly, I was overjoyed that my mother had heard the things I had wanted to tell her for a long time.

I also remembered my own memories, with myself. I recalled the tears of joy at the April 30th Olympics, the rounds of applause at the Traditional Camp, and the days of intense study at the dormitory of Le Quy Don Highschool for the Gifted. I’m proud that the little boy from back then has grown up, has realized that he is much better than he thought, has learned that if he puts in the effort, nothing is impossible, and has dared to challenge himself to live without regrets.

Embarrassment – Ngoc Anh

It’s strange that I chose the emotion of Embarrassment, isn’t it?

But truly, during the process of completing the Fulbright admissions application, I often struggled with this emotion. I enjoy self-reflection and writing personal thoughts, but I only dared to keep them to myself. Applying to Fulbright was the first time I shared so much about myself with the Admissions Committee, which made me feel very embarrassed.

I decided to give my essay drafts and extracurricular activities to my closest friends to read first. The moment I revealed to them about my health condition, I was very apprehensive about being treated like a patient. However, to my surprise, I received understanding and empathy from my friends.

Thanks to that, I opened up and learned to share more with the people I love. That was also when I felt ready to share my journey of fighting that illness in my Fulbright application. Although there was still a lot of embarrassment and fear, in the end I felt understood and relieved.

I gradually came to see writing reflections for the application as confiding in loved ones. No longer feeling pressured or tense, I truly enjoyed the writing process.

For me, no emotion is superfluous or useless. I’m grateful that I dared to be embarrassed, which then allowed me to speak up and write it down. I know I’m bold and confident only because I’ve experienced embarrassment.

Anxiety – Duy An

The opportunity that led me to Fulbright was a talk by the Fulbright School of Public Policy and Management. Out of curiosity about a school with a Liberal Arts Education model, I decided to apply, hoping to step into Fulbright to explore and challenge myself in many fields/disciplines that I found interesting.
However, the initial excitement faded away, leaving behind anxiety in me – a sophomore at that time. “Is it too late to start over?” “Are my initial perceptions correct?” Especially the anxiety of facing the prospect of stepping out of my comfort zone after so long, to redefine my own path ahead.

Thanks to the encouragement from my family, especially my parents who, despite being in their fifties, always strive to learn new languages. My parents always believe: “Learning has no age limit”. This was a great comfort and motivation that helped me become more determined with my choice.

My application journey was most impressive because it was an opportunity for me to face myself once again through writing essays and working on the Original Piece of Work. Looking back at the experiences and memories of the activities I had participated in, I couldn’t help but smile: “Wow, I was once that ‘awesome’?”

Those memories left in me a deep sense of nostalgia and gratitude. Grateful to everyone who contributed to shaping the Duy An of today. Grateful to myself for persevering until this very moment. Mixed with the joy and pride of receiving the offer letter was a bit of anxiety about the upcoming journey. However, that anxiety seemed to ease when I focused on the present: I am now a Fulbright student, living alongside the people I love, and confidently giving myself more new opportunities.

Sadness – Ngan Ha

During the days of diligently searching for emotional fragments, experiences, and lessons to fulfill my dream of Fulbright, I went through a very strange sadness. The questions Fulbright brought to us weren’t difficult, but they required a lot of time for reflection and contemplation.

This was also when I faced the most honest stories and thoughts about myself – something I had always feared because it brought so much sadness. I realized that due to some self-doubt, some inconsistencies, and a little lack of determination, I had missed many opportunities in the past.

However, it was the journey of applying to Fulbright that helped me realize I had been intentionally ignoring the emotion of sadness. Sadness is a part of me, and this emotion is also helping me improve day by day.

The journey of applying to Fulbright is a journey of self-discovery, starting with appreciating and embracing all emotions. I accept that there are moments when I want to cry, because it is a pure and natural emotion, a signal for me to understand that I need to be understood and need to change.

Fear – Tam Phong

During the process of completing the Application Package, I encountered many difficulties, especially in the reflection and essay sections. To reach the final draft, I had to rewrite many times. The more I wrote, the more anxious I became. I worried about my chances of being admitted to the school, and even more about my own abilities as I was never satisfied with my drafts.

However, after each time I felt discouraged due to poor writing, I always regained my confidence and picked myself up to continue on this challenging journey. Whenever I had a new idea, no matter what I was doing, I would stop and jot it down in a small notebook. This gave me a repository of ideas to explore more deeply and build an essay that truly represented myself.

My application journey was tied to many fears. I was afraid of not being good enough, afraid of not being able to express myself. However, these fears seemed to diminish somewhat when I held onto a belief: “If I fail, it’s a new experience. And if I succeed, a new opportunity will open up”. And then, the result of my application to Fulbright showed me that fear is not something that prevents me from achieving success, but rather a motivation that pushes me to become stronger and more complete.