THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS

(Note: This entry was started on Sunday, Jan. 28th but was not completed until today, February 7th.)

Mr. Christopher Gardner whose life story was made into a recently released movie entitled, "The Pursuit of Happyness" starring Will Smith, was at Webster University (St. Louis campus) on Monday, Jan. 29th. Approximately 1,800 people attended his presentation and waited in line for hours to get autograph for his book, "Rags-to-Riches Story: From Homelessness to Wall Street". My husband and I were turned away because the auditorium already reached its maximum accomodation. We were 15 minutes early prior to the scheduled of his appearance. We decided that we were too old to stand in lines (we were told it could be 2 hours) until Mr. Gardner finished speaking. It was too cold to be walking around the campus.

Perhaps in the future I could meet Mr. Gardner and share with him the story of my family coming to America and achieving a good life which is similar to Mr. Gardner's message of self-empowerment, beating the odds and breaking cycles. I read the amazing story of how unfortunate circumstances caused him to become homeless while trying to take care of his son. Upon learning that he was accepted into a training program at a brokerage firm, Mr. Gardner quit his job as a medical sales representative, only to be told that the program was terminated.

Without a job to go back and no money, Mr. Gardner did not give up the dream to create a better life for his son. While enrolling in the Dean Witter Reynolds training program, he and his son lived in a church shelter and getting their meals from soup kitchens. He worked hard from the start of the training, to passing the licensing exam, to becoming the top producer for the brokerage firm and finally achieved the high level of establishing in the business with his own company.

I would share with Mr. Gardner that my family too was homeless when we left Viet Nam and lived in the refugee camp for seven months. We were also people without a country. I would share with Mr. Gardner that my parents have the same love for our family as his love for his son that would not let him quit. That my parents turned down the opportunities to open a restaurant or a business so that my sister, brothers and I would be able to pursue higher education instead of working in a restaurant or a shop in Chinatown.

I would tell Mr. Gardner that have I great admiration and respect that he did not allow "racism" to define how he achieved success and always commited to his family. I know Mr. Gardner would agree that greatness comes from perseverance and inner strength, the same way coach Dungy led the Indianapolis Colts to the Superbowl championship. Mr. Gardner and coach Dungy are men of strong faith. Their spiritual life is the foundation helping them to overcame difficulties in life.

The greatest story is the story about anyone who dared to succeed in America without waiting for the government or someone else to validate their self worth. America is still the land of opportunity. Each of us is responsible for our own happiness and we determine the paths to achieve such "happyness".