I would first like to admit that I am not a counsellor or a motivational speaker. In order to write such an article titled the above, you would not be wrong to assume I am. In fact, on the contrary, I am just a working class girl, from a working class background, who currently runs an online gift shop. Therefore I am certainly not officially ‘qualified' to speak in this area. However, as you read through my short story you will hopefully understand the title.

My family and I, of which there are 10 (6 sisters, including myself, 2 brothers, mum and dad), with my aunt, came over to the UK from Vietnam in the early 80s. Our departure from Vietnam was as a result of the tragic events of the Vietnam War. You may have all heard about the ‘Vietnamese Boat People'- well we were one of the Chinese families escaping Vietnam with absolutely no possessions, but only with a hope that the boat would take us to a better live. Due to the greediness of the boat owner, who charged each person a fee, there were almost 300 hundred people cramped into a boat that was made only to accommodate 150. As you can imagine, not many survived the long journey. My family were the only people who had all family members survive- a lot had drowned or starved to their death.

During our horrendous journey, where we were kept alive with nothing more than lemon juice and bread, our boat attracted Thai pirates. Fortunately, they decided to let us go. Our destination was Kuala Lumpa, where we were held as refugees in a camp for 12 months, waiting to hear which Western country would take us in. 6 months or so before our journey, my parents had to make one of the most difficult decisions. They had a distant relative in the UK, who was able to obtain a Visa for 2 members of our family to enter the country. They sent my eldest brother and second eldest sister to travel to the UK alone, in order that they could at least hope to start a new life for themselves. They were both young teenagers at the time, both aged below 15. The possible reality they were facing was the fact that they may never see us again. My eldest sister was kept with us, in order to help look after the younger ones (and that included me). The account I have given above is, as you can probably imagine, only a very short snippet of our journey and our life in Vietnam.

Fortunately, we were notified of the news that the UK would allow us to enter the country. This gave us hope. Firstly hope that we would go on and lead a better life and most of all hope that we would see my brother and sister again. We were in fact reunited with them again, and this was due to the unforgettable amount of help that they had received from one man, who is now our uncle. He worked to ensure that our family was reunited and were kept together once in the UK.

We (11 of us) were allocated a 4 bedroom council flat in South East London after spending many months in Kensington Barracks. My parents worked their fingers to the bone, doing any job that they could find in order to feed and clothe us. Their one hope was that we would have a good education. I am very proud when I tell people that 7 of us went to university, and 4 (including myself) progressed further to obtain a masters degree, especially when English was not our first language.

My eldest brother now runs our family business (Chinese food manufacturing) which he set up with my parents, and is now in its 17^th year of trading. I recently ventured into the big bad world of business after many years in corporate employment.

I am a strong believer in survival and if you have the desire to succeed in life, whatever it is you want to do, you can, with hard work and integrity. My parents are living proof of that. Although I do not remember our Vietnam ‘adventure', my memories come from them and my elder family members. However, an adventure that I will always remember is the Asian Tsunami nearly 3 years ago, which killed over 250 000 people. I, my partner and my younger sister were on the beach front of Phi-Phi Island Thailand, facing the enormous waves on the day it happened. This is another story in itself, so I will not go into it now, but let's just say, a lot of luck was on our side!

I hope that my short and personal story has given inspiration to those who often feel the world is caving in on them. I hope it has given you inspiration to pursue success, but this does not come handed on a plate to you- you have to work for it with integrity and determination.

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