Why do I do astronomy

 

        There was no electricity on my island until I was 8 years old.

        I was in Padova, Italy, last week (Feb 24-28, 2025) for a training school in my doctoral network. At a dinner with other students and some lecturers, I was asked, "Why do you do astronomy?" I was asked that question several times by several people. Each time answering that question is one more time I felt grateful for what I am having now, and believed in what I could do. 

The photo of a boat - the main transportation that connects my island to the mainland of the province- taken in 2016. 

        I was so obsessed with the magnificent sky full of stars on my island. When I was 7, there was no electricity there because that island is isolated from the mainland of the province. So it took time to build the electricity columns, until 2004. People used candles or oil lamps to light up the house at night. Normally, they turned off the lamps after 8 pm and went to bed early in order to save oil. Children were forced to be in bed by 8 pm. I was living with my grandpa at that time, and every time he asked me to go to bed, I said I wanted to go to the bathroom to have more time staying outdoors, watching the beautiful night sky.  That clear sky built my love for astronomy. 

        And we had no internet. When I turned 15, my uncle bought a computer for his work in the local clinic. I could use it every time I visited my uncle's home, but mostly to learn how to type in Microsoft Word and use some simple Excel functions. I had no information on what to study to follow my dream of researching the night sky: none of my high school teachers knew about which major to study to become an astronomer, and neither college had an Astronomy program in Vietnam at that time (and until now). Luckily, in the Physics book for grade 12, I found one page that briefly mentioned the Sun and the planets. And I decided to study Physics.

        My decision did not make my parents happy. My father wanted me to be a doctor like my uncle. At that time, we had a strong argument, and I hated him for a while, but deep down, I understood that: as any farmer in an agriculture country, he thought the best for me was becoming a doctor, as my uncle, so that I could get a job and had a good life. He was afraid that if I studied Physics and then followed Astronomy (which is a major people have never heard about), I would not find a job with a good income and ended up living paycheck by paycheck. Also, in my family, there was only me who could enroll in college; both my elder sister and brother did not because we could not make enough for them to continue to study after high school. But overall, I still enrolled in a college with a major in Physics, with the support of my elder sister who worked at a factory at that time.

        I finished my Bachelor's degree and worked as a private tutor while searching for a chance to study abroad. I then got an internship in a research institute in Taiwan and enrolled in a funded Master's program in Taiwan after that. Now, I am in Spain pursuing my PhD degree in Astronomy. Being in love with the night sky is the reason why I am doing Astronomy, but for a Vietnamese girl born on a rural island in the south of Vietnam, in a farmer family that could only make end meet, that dream is not obvious to become true.

        That 7-year-old little girl on an island with no electricity, who was obsessed with the night sky, may never know that she is working toward her childhood dream now. That teenager of 17 years old may not know that the dream that everyone told her was unreal is what she is following now. That 22-year-old young woman may be surprised to know that she is in another continent doing research, after these days of late night teaching and trying to catch the last bus back to her rental place, to earn enough for herself and support her family. 

        They may never know, but they never stop trying their best to reach their dream.

        And here they are, a PhD student. 

        Although the dream is still far from being reached, I am grateful for the help and the encouragement from my supervisors, family, friends, (as well as my furry friends) that I received throughout this journey. And I am thankful for the effort they - the past me - made. Thanks a lot, dear me.

        P/s: To my readers from developing countries, first-generation students, and minorities, I hope you find the motivation to work towards your dreams, no matter how "unrealistic" they may seem to those around you.

        Be Brave.