28/09/2025
✨ My Journey as a Lifelong Learner and Public Speaker ✨
I still remember the first time I was called to speak in class. It felt like being a tiny seed buried deep in the soil, trembling in the dark. My legs shook beneath the desk, my hands turned clammy, and my heart thudded so loudly I could hardly hear my thoughts. When I finally stood, no words came. The silence hung heavy, like soil pressing down. In that moment, I felt invisible, fragile, unseen — a seed not yet ready to sprout.
For years, I carried that silence like an unopened bud. I had no friends, little confidence, and lived in constant fear of being noticed. Yet beneath the soil, something quiet stirred — a hidden root of determination. I promised myself that one day, I would break through the surface. One day, I would grow tall, stretch toward the sun, and find my voice.
That promise became the seed of my life’s journey. And as seasons passed, it grew into my mission: to help a new generation of young people believe in themselves, speak with courage, and blossom into resilient, emotionally intelligent learners.
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🌱 The Lifelong Learner: Tending the Soil
As I grew, I discovered the power of daily habits — the steady watering and sunlight that nourished my growth. Each morning, I rose with intention, studying with focus. Each evening, I ended with a book in hand or an audiobook in my ear. Just two hours a day, practiced with care, became my roots — anchoring me in knowledge and purpose.
From these roots, a new dream began to grow: to master the very skill I once feared — public speaking — and to build my work around emotional intelligence and mindset. Yet this was never only about me. Like a tree, my growth was meant to provide shade, fruit, and seeds for others — first my son, and then many children and families around the world.
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🌱 Planting the Seed of Reading
This calling brought me together with parents who also believed in the power of books. With my son and supportive friends, we planted Reading With Me and International Young Talent Award — a movement rooted in the belief that reading and confident public speaking nurtures strong roots of character, confidence, and resilience.
Through research and lived experience, I discovered one truth: children who build reading habits early in life grow stronger branches to weather the storms ahead. The earlier and more consistently they are watered with books, the taller and more resilient they become.
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🌱 Living the Urgency: Guarding the Saplings
The research was clear, but what moved me most was seeing children around me wither under screens, stress, and peer pressure by age 12. Their love for books faded, replaced by shallow distractions. It felt like watching young saplings dry out before they had the chance to grow strong.
So I reorganized my life to nurture my own child’s growth. We planted daily rituals like gratitude self awareness with yoga, mindfulness, audiobooks, and a sacred reading hour a day. Over time, I watched him flourish — focused, calm, and rooted. His growth became my living proof: the seed of discipline, once planted, could thrive.
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🌱 From Challenge to Breakthrough: Shoots Reach for the Sun
When I began teaching others, the soil was rocky at first. My son’s restless energy often disrupted lessons. Yet instead of pulling the seed out in frustration, I chose to nurture it differently. I invited him to become my assistant.
That shift was like sunlight breaking through the clouds. He began to summarize lessons, share insights, and present alongside me. His confidence grew, and his branches spread wide, offering shade to his peers. What once felt like a struggle became a breakthrough — not just for me, but for us both.
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🌱 Growing Together: From Sapling to Forest
From there, our small garden blossomed into something larger. We hosted debates, talent awards, and international competitions. During lockdown, this vision took root even deeper, and by 2022, our global public speaking contests had gathered families across continents.
Each child who found their voice was like a young tree growing strong — together forming a forest of confident, empathetic, and resilient learners who could withstand any storm.
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🌳 From Silence to a Global Mission
What began as the story of a shy little seed buried in silence has grown into a tree that now shelters others. My mission is to keep planting — nurturing seeds of reading, resilience, and self-belief in every child I meet.
And every time I see one of them stand tall, speak clearly, and share their truth, I know: the little seed I once was has not only grown — she has learned to bear fruit, scattering seeds of courage into the world.
🌟 From silence to voice, from seed to tree, this is my journey as a lifelong learner and public speaker
Pham Thi Thanh Nhung, Manchester 28/09/2025.
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Full version:
✨ My Journey as a Lifelong Learner and Public Speaker ✨
I still remember the day my teacher called on me to stand and read aloud in class. My legs shook beneath the desk, my hands turned clammy, and my heart raced so loudly I could barely hear my own thoughts. When I finally stood, no words came out. The silence seemed endless, broken only by the sound of my classmates shifting in their seats. I wanted to disappear. That moment marked me: the shyest girl in school, anxious, invisible, convinced I had no voice worth sharing.
For years, I carried that silence. I had no friends, little confidence, and lived in constant fear of being seen. And yet, somewhere deep inside, a quiet determination began to form. I promised myself I would not stay in the shadow of that timid little girl forever. One day, I would find my voice. One day, I would rewrite my story.
That promise became the thread running through my life. And it has led me here — to my greatest mission: to raise a generation of young people who believe in themselves, who speak with courage, and who grow into resilient, emotionally intelligent learners.
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The Lifelong Learner
As I grew older, I discovered the quiet joy of daily growth. Each morning, I rose with intention, eager to study and reflect. Each evening, I closed my day with a book in hand or an audiobook in my ear. Just two focused hours a day — guided by passion and purpose — became my anchor. From these habits, my dream took shape: to master the very skill I once feared the most and become a leading expert in public speaking, with emotional intelligence and mindset at its core.
But I knew this dream was not mine alone. It was also about what I could pass on — first to my son, and then to the many children and families I would one day meet.
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Planting the Seed of Reading
This calling led me to extraordinary parents who, like me, understood the transformative power of reading. Together with my son and supportive friends (who were once parents of my students), we founded Reading With Me — an international movement rooted in the belief that books could shape character, confidence, and resilience.
Through research, experiments, and lived experience, I discovered one truth again and again: children who build strong daily reading habits early in life carry that strength into every stage of their journey. The habit is most powerful when nurtured from as early as two years old and sustained until at least 13. And if continued into adulthood, it becomes a gift for life — opening doors to growth, empathy, and wisdom.
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What the Research Revealed
• Early Literacy Milestones: By ages 5–7, children begin building phonics and fluency. By ages 8–9, they should shift from learning to read to reading to learn.
• Reading Age Benchmarks: By ages 9–10, children need to read independently at a level that supports critical thinking and academic progress.
• Brain Development: Reading strengthens attention, empathy, and deep language networks far more effectively than fast-paced digital scrolling.
• Impact of Social Media: Excessive exposure before 12–13 is linked to reduced comprehension, shortened attention spans, anxiety, and poor sleep.
• The Protective Role of Reading: Strong reading habits built by ages 10–11 make children far more resilient to the pressures and distractions of the digital world.
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Living the Urgency
The research was clear, but what pushed me most was what I saw with my own eyes. Around me, parents watched helplessly as their children abandoned books by age 12, replacing curiosity with screens, peer pressure, and stress. I felt as if time was running out — not only for my son, but for many children.
So I reorganized my life. I reduced my work and ensured I was home each day by 3 p.m. to be fully present with him. Together, we built daily rituals: gratitude self - awareness with yoga and mindfulness, bedtime audiobooks, and one sacred rule — an hour of reading before even a few minutes of screen time. Often, he became so absorbed in his books that he forgot about the phone entirely. Watching him content and peaceful in those moments reassured me: this strategy was working.
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From Challenge to Breakthrough
Later, I began sharing these practices with others. What started as simple online reading sessions grew into classes on mindset, emotional intelligence, and public speaking. Students joined us from Vietnam, Europe, and America.
At first, it wasn’t easy. My son’s restless energy often made teaching stressful, especially with parents watching behind the screen. But instead of giving up, I reframed the challenge. I invited him to be my teaching assistant.
That single decision changed everything. He began summarizing lessons, noting key insights, and presenting them aloud. He became more focused, more responsible, and a role model to his peers. What had once felt like my greatest struggle became our shared breakthrough.
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Growing Together
From there, our projects expanded. We hosted public speaking debates, talent awards, and international competitions focused on resilience, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence. Often, I encouraged my son to lead the way — stepping up as the first contestant or serving as a junior judge — so others could follow his example with courage.
During the lockdowns in England, I finally had the time and space to dedicate myself fully to this vision. By 2022, we had launched international public speaking competitions that brought together remarkable parents and extraordinary children. These young people were not only excelling academically, but also developing the life skills — confidence, empathy, and resilience — that would carry them far beyond school.
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From Silence to a Global Mission
🌟 What began as the story of a shy little girl who once stood frozen in front of her class has grown into a global mission. Today, through my daily projects, I continue to nurture a generation of avid readers and lifelong learners — children who grow into resilient, emotionally intelligent, and confident young voices who believe in themselves and their dreams.
And every time I hear one of them stand tall, speak clearly, and share their truth, I know that little girl in me has finally found her voice.
Saigon Lotus, Manchester 28/09/2025
