The Classroom Where I Found My Confidence
Scroll to read the story ↓Nguyen Anh Duong, 15, lives in Hoi An, now part of Da Nang. She is a member of her school’s Green Living Club, a Green citizens – Healthy cities initiative, where she has gradually moved from being a shy participant to taking on a leadership role. The Green Living Club has around 30-40 members, with monthly activities covering topics such as the environment, waste, disasters and local heritage, as well as skills-building and local exploration activities. Beyond the club sessions, the members also organise awareness-raising activities such as the “7 Days of Green Living” competition which encouraged students to take daily green-living actions. The classroom where the club meets has become closely connected to her friendships, memories and growing confidence.
A place that means something to me
To my teachers and classmates, this is simply an English classroom. But to me, this room means so much more because it is also where my school’s Green Living Club meets. Since the club was established, my core team and I have met here two or three times almost every month – to organise activities, brainstorm ideas, prepare content, and rehearse our programmes. Every time I walk into this room, I feel as if the whole journey of our club comes back to me.
One memory I will never forget is the afternoon after our year-end closing activity. When everyone had gone home, a few friends and I stayed behind to clean up and put the tables and chairs back. Just then, an early-summer rain suddenly poured down. None of us had a raincoat, so we simply stayed in the room, watching the rain and talking. The rain felt like one long round of applause for the journey we had just been through.
That was when I realised I would miss not only this room, but also the people I had grown up with, the stories we had shared, and this chapter of my youth with so many meetings, worries, unfinished ideas that we worked together to complete.
“This room has witnessed me grow from a shy girl who did not believe in herself into someone who dares to stand in front of others and lead a club.”
The place I wish I could change
The place I wish I could change is the community cultural centre where I live. When I was younger, my friends and I spent many afternoons there, running around, playing on the slide, and chasing each other. But one day, while climbing the playground stairs, I looked down and saw pieces of broken glass right under my feet. I still remember how startled and frightened I felt.
Since then, I have never felt as carefree there. Today, the centre is poorly maintained: playground facilities are old and deteriorating, objects block paths and play areas, and there is not enough lighting at night.
“I believe that a public space only truly becomes meaningful when it attracts people and brings them together.”
I hope it can be cleaned, repaired, and redesigned with interactive games using lights or projectors so children and adolescents can meet, learn, exercise, and play together.
My message to adults and decisionmakers
I wish adults and decisionmakers knew that when adolescents spend time taking part in activities and learning about our local community, we are not neglecting our studies or wasting time. We are developing social and soft skills and building connections with other young people.
“Please give us opportunities, trust us, and support us.”