Nghe An female student won first prize in national literature contest: "To live is to change"

"Owe" Literature a promise

Tran Thi Thanh Tu has had a passion for literature since her primary school days at Ha Huy Tap Primary School. However, Tu's greatest achievement at that time was only an award for students with beautiful handwriting. In secondary school, Literature was still her favorite subject and was considered gifted by teachers at Ha Huy Tap Secondary School. However, in her four years at secondary school, Tu's greatest award was only an Encouragement Prize at the city's literature competition.

Tran Thi Thanh Tu (middle) with her friends at the opening ceremony of the 2017-2018 school year. Photo - NVCC

Tu's faith in Literature only returned when he was one of the five students with the highest entrance score in the Literature class of Phan Boi Chau High School. However, once again, Tu's "fate" with Literature was only the Encouragement Prize in the Provincial Literature Competition in 11th grade.

These initial awards also put Tu in front of two difficult choices: to continue pursuing Literature or to “give up” and focus on the University Entrance Exam. And then, because of his love for Literature, Tu realized that he was “indebted” to this subject. At least one prize was worth more than the previous ones he had received.

“To live is to change”

“To live is to change” is also one of the two questions in the Literature exam at this year’s National Excellent Student Exam. Tu himself, right after reading this question, was very excited because this was an “open” exam that helped Tu have the ability to express his own opinions. With this exam, Tu got 17 points, almost perfect and excellently won the First Prize at this year’s Exam.

Tu also shared: When I heard the news from my teacher, I couldn't believe my ears. I kept asking her to review it over and over again. I was really happy because in the school's Literature team, I was not the most outstanding student.

Tran Thi Thanh Tu (second from left) with her classmates in the Literature team. In 2018, all 10 team members won prizes. Photo: My Ha

In fact, the Literature exam is also “close” to Tu himself, especially after he decided to choose Literature as his goal. Recalling that time, Tu said: When he continuously failed in competitions, he began to look back at himself, trying to find the cause to find an answer. And Tu discovered that his limitation was not knowledge but the stereotype, monotony and lack of “self” in the way of expression.

Finding the reason also helped Tu change a lot in the way he studied, felt and expressed his writing. Besides, Tu diligently read books, searched and followed events related to daily life to make his writing more lively.

Teacher Le Luong Tam - Tu's homeroom teacher said: Tu's "resilience" only showed clearly in the last months of the team's training session. However, although it was late, Tu is still the clearest proof of the saying "everything can be done if you work hard" because he is truly a serious and diligent student.

His eagerness to learn and effort are also the reasons why his homeroom teacher and tutor Hoang Thi Hien Luong did not hesitate to choose Tu for the national team, even though before that, compared to many other students, Tu was not as outstanding. Tu's biggest advantage is that during the learning process, Tu fully grasped everything the teachers taught, did it in the right spirit and also knew how to cultivate it.

A class of class 12 C1. This is the class that brought about the "miracle" of the Literature team in 2018. Photo: My Ha

Few people know that a week before the exam, due to studying and worrying, Tu got very sick, his face was swollen from too much IV. However, when entering the exam room, Tu was confident and bold in expressing himself.

Tu also confided: When she decided to change her way of learning and writing, her personality also changed. Most noticeably, from a shy, timid student, Tu became more and more confident and knew how to express her personal opinions. She was also enthusiastic about youth work, participating in volunteer activities to teach students at SOS Children's Village.

Tu’s winning the first prize in Literature at the National Excellent Student Competition is also a “breakthrough” for Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted after 6 years of waiting. This is also the fourth student of the school to be honored with this award. As for Tu, although he won, his studies have not stopped there as his goal is still the upcoming university entrance exam.

Choosing block D and being willing to give up being “directly admitted” is also a way for Tu to change and renew himself. Moreover, it is also the way for a young person like Tu to assert himself.

Tran Thi Thanh Tu - First Prize in National Literature. Photo: My Ha

Sharing his views on the National Excellent Student exam, Tu confided: “To live is to change” is also the motto of the current young generation and is in line with the laws of life. However, to change positively, one must learn to think and constantly reach out to the world.

Also according to Tu: The exam is good because it has a critical nature because even though there are changes, in the process of development, we still have to preserve traditional cultural features of the nation and not lose ourselves...

My Ha