Trần Minh Tú- “To make it till the end”


When assigned to write an article o­n HAO’s members, I right away had the idea of writing about Tran Minh Tu come to mind. Tran Minh Tu- Math 1 Class of 2004.


Honestly, I was very curious about this guy. Not surprisingly, you may have that feeling after glancing at his achievements:

+ 3rd Place, National Merit Contest in Mathematics (Junior & Senior Years)
+ Former President, Hanoi-Amsterdam Students’ Association
+ Profound knowledge about music, Member of Ams orchestra.
+ 1st Place, “Writing for HAO 2003” Contest.

Yes, he is said a successful well-rounded student since he has had considerable accomplishments in all the fields he joins. So what makes his success?
To have the answer, I had a talk with Tran Minh Tu. It was a true talk in its definition instead of an interview.

Let’s start with academics. Since small, Tu joined aptitude class in Math in which his passion lies. “Studying Math can be useful to me for many purposes: my future’s job, passion, hobby, and it’s like a habit…”, said he. “ Math gives us a better and sharper logic thought”. Sometimes, to Tu, Math is like a conditional instinct and he studies it when he feels there is a need. Faced with a Math problem, what stays in his mind is “To solve it till the end” . Each time, he seems absorbed in the Math problem. “And leaving the problem unsolved is the most inconvenient feeling for me”, he said.


Above is Tu’s sincere feelings. Do these reasons make his success in Math? However, unlike what people may think, his favorite subject which is also his biggest pride is Chemistry. To Tu, studying Chemistry and solving a Chemistry exercise are like a relaxation. “It gives me comfortable feelings”


Frankly, the more I learn about Tu, the more I find him interesting. We can easily see a great science passion in this person. That may make you assume that this is a “dry” and rigid person but the truth turns out the opposite. Tu also has an immense ardor for music.


He started learning music at the age of 3. At 7, Tu began his friendship with piano. As he told me: “Study seriously, study till the end ” . Though an amateur player, Tu has been nurturing an ambition of doing something considerable for music (to compose great works, for instance). People have the right to dream and work hard for their dreams. Minh Tu is such a person.


To him, music is his spiritual encouragement source. He likes Classics the most. It comforts him whenever faced with problems and clears away all the pressure. Music, to him, is like a close friend who can encourage and share with him happiness, sorrow. It can be said Tu listens and feels music by his true heart.
Tran Minh Tu does not have assembly dry features commonly found in science people. In his heart, an arts, spefically music, torch always burns excitedly. In today’s hastening life, it is not easy to find such a person.


I had been wondering whether a person with a great deal of passions like Tu may not join Communist Youth Union’s activities actively. But Tu surprised me o­nce again. He has been an active member since primary school. Starting with a role in his school’s musical group. Later, with enough confidence and experience, Tu proved his talents. At Hanoi-Amsterdam Student’s Association meeting in his freshman year, he nominated himself to the Association’s leadership board. After o­ne year of active participation, Tu became the President. When I asked Tu if the Association’s activities might have any hurdles in his studying, he answered me without the least hesitation “Not much. In contrast, I have more friends- good friends who joined with me”


Turning back to HAO activities, I was curious at his 1st Place in “Writing for HAO 2003” Contest. His writing named “Hasty” got the highest marks, outdoing many other pieces by HAO’s famous writers. I asked him in which a situation he wrote that. And what he then told me made me interested more.


“ I wrote it during SEA Games closing period. At that time, I remembered the time 2 years before when Hanoi-Amsterdam freshmen joined the SEA Games Flag Reception Ceremony at Hanoi Stadium, which was really imposing and ..fun as well. It was just like yesterday but ended so soon. I felt somewhat missing. Some more imagination, combination and “Hasty” was born! "


That’s it, a little sadness, a little missing, some more emotions all make “Hasty” the 1st Place in last year’s contest.


Finally, I asked Tu about his future’s plans. He got 3rd Place in the National Merit Contest so an Average Graduation Diploma is enough for him to go straight to the university. At the time of interview, Tu hadn’t decided which school he was going next year but “Going o­n with Math is obvious!”, he said. “I’ll choose the school with best conditions to further develop my passion in Math”. In his conception, high school is mere studying. University will be a chance for him to go deep and do more research; thereafter, which school to choose is very important.


After this 2-hour talk, I have learned more about this person and his passions. But above all, the talk was really useful for me. His motto “Make it till the end, Study seriously, Study till the end” makes me realize quite a lot of things. I feel a need to change my lifestyle so that there would be no regret, no wasting. And I think that many among us have seen this. In this occasion, I wish Tran Minh Tu will get what he wants, what he dreams of.


To live is to dream continuously and to make those dreams come true!


Translated by Nguyen Thanh Huong
Posted by Nguyen Thu Hien - Van 98-01