6:00 a.m. I got spawned into this world. According to my mom, everything went smoothly. As for me? I had absolutely no idea what was going on.
This year I unlocked some starter abilities: standing, walking, and saying a few Vietnamese words like “Mom”, “Dad”, and “Hi”. Basically, the demo version of a human was finally playable.
I started kindergarten. Sounds cute. The experience was not. I got bullied, was weak both physically and mentally. Looking back now, yeah… this was probably where my first emotional scratches showed up
I met my very first friend in class 1A2 at Dao Phuc Loc Primary School. His name was Trong. Because of him, I became less introverted, less afraid of people, and slowly started “unlocking” the outside world. A small moment, but a big turning point.
This year I got hit with gastritis. Sounds minor. It wasn’t. Weak, overweight, constantly tired, taking meds every day, vomiting whenever stress kicked in — full debuff package. This was the year I learned that your body and mind can absolutely turn against you.
This was the first time I realized what it meant to like someone. Her name was T*** She was the kind of pretty that made everyone fall instantly. Me and another guy (H**) were both simping hard. We even had serious discussions about her hobbies and jokingly imagined marrying her someday😹.Looking back, it was childish and dumb — but the memory still hits.
On June 4th, 2024, I realized I was studying next to someone who felt… different. Sorry if you’re reading this, but your name deserves to be here: Đỗ Phạm Phương Anh. She’s beautiful, smart, and feels like she was born with built-in buffs. Always top of the class, ranked third in the high school entrance exam. Quiet, a small group of her bestfriend — but her vibe? Extremely chill and socializing. I built a website for her 15th birthday — my first serious web project ever. After everything, I still have to admit it: I still like her. And that feeling is stubborn as hell.
In May 2025, I did something pretty unhinged: I confessed. Result? Rejected 😭. That day was terrifyingly quiet. That same year, I passed the high school entrance exam, ranking 73rd out of 495. Not bad — but not excellent either.I was wondering myself: Was I just… not good enough to love Phuong Anh?
Only two months — but enough to change a lot. In July, me and my closest friends were basically glued together: movie theaters, eating out, gaming from morning till midnight. Most importantly, we started playing basketball. My first sport ever that I took seriously. Painful. Exhausting. Addictive. Around the same time, I started learning web development. And yeah — my first project was for Phương Anh. Coding was rough, Python was stressful, but finishing it made me feel like I’d leveled up. By August, we were playing 3v3 and 1v1. The strongest player on the team was Chuong — not just because of skill, but because he always pushed everyone else to improve. (Our team had five members: Le Bao Nam, Doan Minh Son, Nguyen Minh Tien, Nguyen Huu Chuong, and me — Nguyen Xuan Thanh.) They weren’t just teammates. They were the people who pulled me back whenever my mood completely crashed. Funny, kind, and genuinely real
In September, all of us entered class 10A5 at Tran Phu High School. On September 5th, the team officially got a name: Hạc Sẹo — a name that literally means nothing . And that’s exactly why it's hilarious. Not long after, we even went to watch Red Rain with our new classmates. We had known each other for exactly three days, yet there we were, sitting in the same cinema like we’d been friends forever.