The Happiest Refugee

by Anh Do

‘You listen to us, kids. As you grow up, you make sure you do as much as you can to give back to this country that gave us a second chance.’

After that incident my parents decided the best thing was not to ban the kids from the machines, but to actually teach us how they worked. To this day I am still an absolute gun at hemming, overlocking and buttonholing.

‘Always question your fear, Anh. There’s almost never a good reason to be scared.’

If the worst happens, if you lose and fail, but you still celebrate coming second because you’ve given it a red hot go, there is no need to fear failure.

‘There’s only two times in life, there’s now and there’s too late.’

‘When you know it’s right for you, but it scares you, it means you have the most to gain from doing it.’

‘You always have to make decisions in your life, Anh. And don’t kid yourself; when you don’t decide, that’s a decision.’