• Transcript
• Essays (650 words. Focus on yourself)
• SAT/ACT (optional)
• Part-Time Job
• Volunteering
• Extracurriculars
• Recommendation Letters (2 teachers)
• School Profile
• Awards
• Everything Else…

CommonApp

Web-based platform to simplify applying to college

Early Decision (ED)

A decision option that requires students enroll in that school if admitted. Legally-binding

Early Action (EA)

A decision option that allows students to apply early and hear back early. Non-binding.

Regular Decision (RD)

Last available deadline and decisions are typically released In March-April.

Rolling Admission

No hard deadline. Decisions are released on a continual basis.

Deferred Admission

Applied EA or ED and the school sees potential but wants to see more. Ex. 1^st semester grades.

Waitlist

Applied and the school may admit you if there is space available.

Test-Optional

Students can submit SAT/ACT scores only if they want

Test-Blind

The school will not review SAT/ACT scores even II student submits them.

My wife sat me down and told me straight to my face, “You need counseling.” She’s right. I have issues and I need some counseling to help my emotions from bouncing off the walls. I have someone in mind—a girl I used to date briefly in high school. We used to talk over the phone for hours for free. Now that she’s a counselor, I just need to pay her to talk to me. I disclosed it with my wife up front and she cleared it.

I have never talked to a counselor before. I just write down my problems and get them out of my system. That’s why I still love blogging after 22 years. Writing helps me work through my emotional issues. When facing people who are too close to my heart, I cannot control my emotions. I either break down or burst out. When it comes to emotions, I am either all in or all out. I don’t have a mechanism to balance my emotions.

As a father, I invested too much of my emotions into my kids. Of course, all parents do. I care about their wellbeing. I worry about their future. I would like them to be kind and compassionate. I would like them to celebrate their successes, but I also want them to deal with their failures. On the other hand, I can just fulfill my responsibilities as a father and leave my emotions out of our relationships. I tried, but I failed and I got frustrated, especially as the kids grew older. The same with our marriage, I am either all in or all out. I love my wife with all my heart and emotions. I can’t do it any other way. I just have to keep it real.

I am not even sure if I make any sense. I am still trying to work out how I interact with the people around me. How much space should I keep to myself? How comfortable can I be with everyone around me? I don’t know what the answer is. All I know is that the worst thing is to pretend to care if I don’t give a fuck.

Đạo is now a junior in high school. It’s time to start his college application. I am just putting together some resources here for him and anyone else who might be interested. He will need to do most of the work himself.

Junior Year

Fall/Winter

• Think Broadly!
• Big vs Small
• Public vs Private
• In-State vs Out-of-State
• Close by vs Far away
• City vs Rural vs Suburban
• Begin discussing finances and paying for college

Spring

Visit different types of schools. Ex: Virginia Commonwealth vs James Madison. Swarthmore vs Johns Hopkins

Between Junior and Senior

Summer

• Tour Schools
• Brainstorm Essay Topics
• Apply to Scholarships
• Choose Letter Recommenders

Senior Year

Fall

• Finalize College List
• Write College Essays
• Fill Out CommonApp
• Write College Supplements
• Submit the FAFSA
• Apply to Scholarships

Winter

• Apply for Regular Decision
• Begin Hearing Back From Schools Continue Applying to Scholarships

Spring

• Choose Which College to Attend
• Make Sure You are on Track to Graduate
• Finish Your Classes Strong
• Graduate!

Yesterday evening started off as just a typical Wednesday. I came home from work, ate a quick dinner, then chauffeured Đán and Xuân to their piano lessons. We went back home, dropped Ðán off, then headed to Daddy Volleyball Night. Xuân and Vương would tag along so they could hang out with their scout buddies. Since Vương had a fractured arm, I didn’t take him with us. I didn’t want him to play around, which might make his injury worse.

Dads played several games of volleyball, laughing, and joking around. At around 9:50 pm, Xuân came up to me to inform me that he just vomited after eating half a cookie with his friend. His lower lip also looked swollen. I left the game and took him home. On the way, he complained that he started having chest pain. I called my wife and decided to head to the emergency room instead.

Xuân informed the doctor that his throat and tongue were itchy. His breathing was fine, but he experienced some chest pain. He met all the allergic symptoms; therefore, they administered him allergic medication through the IV line. Benadryl knocked him out. They monitored him until 1:00 am before they released him.

Right after the incident, I asked the other kid’s dad if he knew what kind of nuts were in the cookie. He replied, “Walnut,” and immediately apologized. I told him it was not his fault and it was not his kid’s fault either. His kid did ask Xuân if he had an allergy before sharing his cookie. Xuân didn’t have any allergic reactions in the past, but now we know.

Even though it was not his fault, the dad said sorry. It was just the right thing to say. I am glad that common courtesy still exists. For a minute, I thought we had lost decency. If “Sorry seems to be the hardest word,” simply “Is he OK?” would be sufficient.

Gucci Mane, without a doubt, one of the hardest-working rappers in the game. Even when he was behind bars, he was still pushing bars. In the intro of his latest double album release, Episodes, he boasts, “I shot my shot at the stars, somehow I landed on Mars / I went from bein’ behind bars, now I’m rappin’ my bars.”

Gucci has an ear for beats. Most of the productions on “Episodes” are gritty and lively. Gucci also has mastered the art of flow. When he rhymes slow, his flow is hypnotic. When he rhymes fast, his flow is infectious. Listen to the second verse on “Voices” to see how effortlessly switches up his flow.

On occasions, he throws out some hilarious punchlines. On “Gucci Special,” he rhymes, “Got me a new fun bitch, she comes with a water park.” On “Still Icy,” he brags, “I got so much cash that I named my daughter Iceland / Yeah, this the life and all this money is enticing.” Elsewhere he gloats, “Money like Monopoly, I told speak in Guapanese.” WTF is Guapanese? I am learning a new word everyday.

As much as I enjoy the banging beats, the virtuosic flows, and the witty punchlines, I can’t get past the misogynistic lyrics. In every track, Gucci talks about women in derogatory ways, but these bars are so wrong on many levels: “I think this ho special ed / Way she drools on this dick, swear this ho needs a helmet / The way I keep dick in the bitch / Got her legs shaking like her name Elvis the Pelvis.” Struggling with mental health, Gucci hears “Voices” in his head. I wonder which head he’s referring to. He needs help regardless.

In “Forest,” he plugs his new memoir: “I turned my life into a book, I’m rich off literature.” If Episode the album complements Episodes the book then I won’t look forward to reading it.

The good news is that the cast keeps Vương’s arm in place; therefore, he doesn’t need surgery yet. Because the fractured bone is so close to his elbow, it can be moved. He’ll have to come back next week for another x-ray to determine if he wouldn’t need surgery at all. It’s another week of patiently waiting.

The bad news is that Vương won’t be able to ski this winter. The fracture will need three to four months to completely heal. Our annual winter break ski trip might need to be cancelled this year. Our family skiing experience won’t be the same without him on the slopes. He’s an integral part of the crew. He always led us into the trees. Watching him grow as a skier and riding alongside with him had always been a joy for me. Hopefully, he will be able to join us in January, 2026.

Anyway, shit happens. We’ll just have to adjust our plans and adapt to our circumstances. His recovery is our priority right now. Everything else can wait.

It has been 10 days since Vương’s arm is fractured. Today we need to take him back to the pediatric orthopedic for an x-ray to determine if he would need surgery or not.

The last 10 days seemed like eternity. I constantly have to remind him not to move his fractured arm around too much. I have been praying that he wouldn’t need surgery to put a screw in his bone.

We were talking about skiing at dinner last night and Vương said sadly, “I am not going to be able to ski or snowboard.” Damn! That cut like a knife. If he won’t need surgery, he will be out of his cast in less than 3 weeks.

Needless to say, I couldn’t sleep last night. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. As I am writing this post, I am feeling butterflies in my stomach. I am taking the day off from work because I am not going to be able to concentrate on anything else other than his arm.

This is the first time in my life that I am dealing with bone injuries. I hope it is my last. Vương is the one with the fractured bone and yet it hurts me more than I am being injured myself. I am praying that his bone is healing well and no surgery required.

Today is Election Day in Virginia. I will head to the poll and cast my vote for all Democrats:

• Abigail D. Spanberge for Governor
• Ghazala F. Hashmi for Lieutenant Governor
• Jay C. Jones for Attorney General
• David L. Bulova for Member House of Delegates 11^th District

I urge you to vote for candidates with a D next to their name to resist the current president and his administration. Our constitution is under attack. Our democracy is dying. Our country is falling under autocracy. Voting for Democrats is the only way to take back our government from an authoritarian.

My mind has been fucked up lately and alcohol keeps me floating above my own ocean of emotions. Once the alcohol wears off, however, I am drowning again. I need something else to take things off the edge. I recently discovered Alice Phoebe Lou through her latest release, Oblivion. The acoustic setting calms my mind as her intimate singing soothes my soul.

Right off the opening track, “Sailor,” I dig her angelic, slightly scratchy vocals. Accompanied by a strumming guitar, she sings, “You were once a sailor / Sailing through my mind / I had never given up / On your return to my shores.”

Furthermore, what draws me into Lou’s music is her poetic lyrics. On “Sparkle,” accompanied by subtle piano keys, she phrases softly, “I will not change / For the reasons you think / In a blink of an eye / I’ll have metamorphosized.” Love the way she enunciates that last word.

“Skyline” is a testament that Lou is a great storyteller. Using piano as a device, she narrates the lyrics with poise and punctuation: “There’s a body lying in the middle of a busy street / He’s painted red and staring at the sky / He leans out his car window and says, ‘Get the hell out of my way / I’ll be late, I’ve gotta be on time.”

The entire album is filled with poetic lyricisms and her simple approach makes her songs personal and comprehensible. The whole close-out track consists of, “With or without him / With or without / Without / With or without.” Without a doubt, Oblivion is a masterpiece of minimalism.