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Pham, Nghi Nguyen Phuong

Collin College 
DigitalCommons@Collin 
INRW/Coreq Student Showcase Developmental Education 
Spring 5-6-2024 
My Comfort Zone 
Nghi Nguyen Phuong Pham 
Collin College 
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.collin.edu/inrwshowcase 
Recommended Citation 
Pham, Nghi Nguyen Phuong, "My Comfort Zone" (2024). INRW/Coreq Student Showcase. 15. 
https://digitalcommons.collin.edu/inrwshowcase/15 
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It has been accepted for inclusion in INRW/Coreq Student Showcase by an authorized administrator of 
DigitalCommons@Collin. For more information, please contact mtomlin@collin.edu. 
My Comfort Zone 
Under the hotter-than-blue blazes sun, my grandparents’ home, their nhà, stands firmly in 
the middle of a rare green space in the heart of Bien Hoa City – an important industrial area in 
southern Vietnam. Tropical monsoon winds carrying heat gently blow through the yard, and a choir 
of sparrows sings in the Indian almond trees, all contributing to create a melodious song that 
relaxes my soul. In the yard, the grass feels soft beneath my feet, like a feathery carpet. My 
grandmother's love of nature clearly shows in the yard in front of the house. Peach blossoms, 
yellow apricot flowers, chrysanthemums, and sunflowers bloom in vibrant clusters every spring, 
especially during the Tet holiday. The little yard is surrounded by a metal fence like a giant 
protective guardian for a precious treasure. The fence is decorated with popular ornamental plants 
and my grandparents' favorite fruit trees, such as kumquat, guava, and barringtonia acutangula. In 
the afternoon, leaves rustling and dancing in the gentle breeze give a comforting ambience to a 
quiet space.  
The house stands as a testament to the passage of time; it is a treasure trove where every 
corner holds memories waiting to be discovered. The house is a one-story with an L-shaped 
structure, which was built with concrete and brick. With a bright orange, multi-tiered roof and an 
open-air courtyard, my grandparents' house retains many characteristics of antiquated Vietnamese 
architecture. The house exudes an aura of the timeless beauty of ancient designs. The faded light 
yellow paint hints at a rich history with memories that seem to whisper stories of generations past. 
The orange tiled roof amidst the blue, cloudless sky makes the house stand out even more. 
Whenever I enter the house,  my sense of smell is awakened by a combination of childhood scents: 
the warm, earthy smell of wooden-made interiors and the aromatic scent of traditional Vietnamese 
food. My grandmother’s signature dishes include thit kho mang (Vietnamese braised pork with 
 1 
bamboo shoots), and canh chua (sweet and sour soup) that have contributed to my wonderful 
childhood. The floor of the house is paved with square tiles that have simple but unique patterns. 
The house has few decorations as my grandparents like orderliness and minimalism. Therefore, 
the house's furniture is primarily necessary everyday items. Despite the simplicity of the furniture, 
the walls are an archive of family memories like a slow-motion movie. Photographs are neatly 
lined up on the textured wall along with light stains of time, capturing moments of joy and 
celebration. Alongside the photos are walnut shelves that overflow with books and textbooks that 
have been kept for decades. Inside the books, pages are yellowed with age, their deckled edges 
frayed like a favorite shirt that has been worn until its color has faded. The scent that rises from 
the pages is like a bouquet of memories, a heady mix of dust, ink, and the moldy scent of older 
times.  
The house always gives me a sense of emotional healing, I feel protected every time I am 
embraced by the peaceful atmosphere of the house. Recently, I have not been able to visit my 
grandparents because of the geographical distance. Leaving my home country with the passion for 
self-development and pursuing a career forced me to step out of my comfort zone and leave behind 
precious family moments. Despite many arduous challenges, the thought of my grandparents' 
house motivates me to keep trying because I know there are people there who will always support 
me. Regardless of where I live, their nhà will always be my comfort zone filled with beautiful 
childhood memories. 
 


English

My Comfort Zone

Stepherson, Karen

Forces 
Volume 2024 Article 2 
4-15-2024 
911-Never Forget 
Karen Stepherson 
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.collin.edu/forces 
Recommended Citation 
Stepherson, Karen (2024) "911-Never Forget," Forces: Vol. 2024, Article 2. 
Available at: https://digitalcommons.collin.edu/forces/vol2024/iss1/2 
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inclusion in Forces by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@Collin. For more information, please contact 
mtomlin@collin.edu. 
1 0
A King’s Resolution
Rachel Delight Walker
Be resolute to recharge
Only after foraging through to refuse the ratification of anything less than total justice
Rescinding any reconstructs of anything less than
All men are created equal
Respecting the responsibility of the requests of:
Acknowledgment.
 Apology.
  Amendment.
   …and Atonement.
 Walk these un-Common miles,  then you can rest a while
 For He says, “I’ll refresh tired bodies; I’ll restore tired souls.”
Be resolute to reset
Only after demanding
All.
 Here.
  Now.
All – for all of the rights
 Here – for Right here
  Now – as in right now.
Reigniting the revelation of this revolution
Because none of us will ever be what we ought to be
Until all of us have the right
To
 Just
  Be  
   Free
For let us not be weary in well doing – for in due season we shall reap if we not faint.
 Yes – Keep walking these uncertain miles
 – then and only then should you rest a while.
Be resolute in the renewal
Of your commitment to fight
For the respect and the rights of all humankind
Remember – the reality is that resistance to what is right only empowers the revolution
One should resourcefully recognize that reparations and restitutions are only pathways to reconciliation
For they that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength
Recharge – Reset – Renew
Walk a mile in these shoes, then rest a while
In a King’s resolute.
F O R C E S
2 0
2 4
1 1
911– Never Forget
Karen Stepherson
Flying High
Karen StephersonB
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911-Never Forget

Gardia, Javier

Forces 
Volume 2024 Article 12 
4-15-2024 
Big Boy 
Javier Gardia 
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Recommended Citation 
Gardia, Javier (2024) "Big Boy," Forces: Vol. 2024, Article 12. 
Available at: https://digitalcommons.collin.edu/forces/vol2024/iss1/12 
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inclusion in Forces by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@Collin. For more information, please contact 
mtomlin@collin.edu. 
F O R C E S
2 0
2 4
6 3
An Ode to the End of the Line
Lauren Limburg
To the last stop on the green line,
You were home to some 
A sign of relief at the door opening
As they scrambled out and away into the night.
But the rest of us didn’t move from our seat.
From us weary travelers, 
Thank you
Thank you for that moment of rest
The moment for us to catch our breath 
Before heading back the way we came.
As the door closed,
Those remaining shared a single glance of solidarity.
As the doors closed, so did a few eyes.
The rest waved goodbye to you,
With the promise to see you tomorrow.
Big Boy
Javier Garcia


Big Boy

Eagles, Emory

Forces 
Volume 2024 Article 18 
4-15-2024 
Don't Panic 
Emory Eagles 
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.collin.edu/forces 
Recommended Citation 
Eagles, Emory (2024) "Don't Panic," Forces: Vol. 2024, Article 18. 
Available at: https://digitalcommons.collin.edu/forces/vol2024/iss1/18 
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inclusion in Forces by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@Collin. For more information, please contact 
mtomlin@collin.edu. 
1 8
Don’t Panic
Emory Eagles 
On the Front Line
Emory Eagles
Atlas
Ella Miller
The weight of the world lies on your shoulders
It is not as bad as it seems.
The air is heavy
Tasting of salt
My eyes are blurry
As I look to you
Quiet whimpers echo
I can taste the despair
Your shoulders CRACK! under the burden
For you are Atlas at the western edge
But you are not a god
Nor a titan
it is worse than it seems
I was wrong
Don’t worry
We can get through this
Because heroes don’t die
They can’t
It will take too long
To be saved
The weight will be too much
I will no longer see
Will you still feel pain?
The sky will fall
Crushing us.
We could be heroes
Maybe some other day
Today we are
Just another tragedy
Crushed under
The weight of the world.
T
he
 w
ei
gh
t o
f t
he
 w
or
ld
 li
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 o
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yo
ur
 s
ho
ul
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s 
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as
 it
 s
ee
m
s.
   
  


Don\u27t Panic

French, Kaci

Forces 
Volume 2024 Article 21 
4-15-2024 
Enjoy Every Color of Your Life 
Kaci French 
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.collin.edu/forces 
Recommended Citation 
French, Kaci (2024) "Enjoy Every Color of Your Life," Forces: Vol. 2024, Article 21. 
Available at: https://digitalcommons.collin.edu/forces/vol2024/iss1/21 
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inclusion in Forces by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@Collin. For more information, please contact 
mtomlin@collin.edu. 
7 2
Enjoy Every Color of Your Life
Kaci French


Enjoy Every Color of Your Life

Masters, Annmarie

Forces 
Volume 2024 Article 40 
4-15-2024 
Little Miss Shorecrest 
Annmarie Masters 
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.collin.edu/forces 
Recommended Citation 
Masters, Annmarie (2024) "Little Miss Shorecrest," Forces: Vol. 2024, Article 40. 
Available at: https://digitalcommons.collin.edu/forces/vol2024/iss1/40 
This Essay is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@Collin. It has been accepted for 
inclusion in Forces by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@Collin. For more information, please contact 
mtomlin@collin.edu. 
5 5
F O R C E S
2 0
2 4
Little Miss Shorecrest
Annmarie Masters
Tumbling backwards now past the big houses with the circular 
drives, past the foreign cars and jasmine-covered mailboxes, past 
the professional landscaping, hurtling now faster and faster past inner 
city brownstones, past one bedroom apartments and studios in doormen 
buildings, garden apartments and cement block dorm rooms back to a 
suburban neighborhood with cyclone fencing and above ground pools,  
with cul-de-sacs inhabited by split levels, back to the sixties. Houses framed 
by poplar trees and a railroad track in back. 1962. A girl at the window. A 
man on the porch. That was me. That was my father. 
Now I’m in my childhood bedroom wearing the same pink dress and 
white pinafore that I wore in the “Little Miss Shorecrest” contest. My mother 
is asking, “Who do you want to live with?” I look down. If I say “you,” I will 
betray my father. If I say “Dad,” I will betray her. All I can think of is if I 
had won the pageant, and not come in First Runner Up my Dad wouldn’t 
be leaving. I remain mute. My father moves out. I am 6. Every Sunday Dad 
A girl at the window. A man on the porch. That was me. 
 That was my father. 
comes and brings us to Mass. In the beginning we go to my grandparents’ 
house where he is staying. After a while, months, years, we go to his 
apartment. He’s remarried now to an Italian lady. She was his secretary. 
This angers my mother greatly. The Italian lady is nice to us at first. All five 
of us. She cooks us great Italian Sunday dinners. Then they have a baby 
and buy a house. Dad doesn’t bring us to Mass anymore. He brings us to the 
Home Depot instead. We walk around the huge store for hours looking at 
things he needs for his home. Sometimes we get six hot chocolates with 
whipped cream at Friendly’s. ‘But why can’t we see the baby?’ “When the 
house is finished, we’ll wait until then. See you next Sunday.”
The baby grows up, and then another. The unseen nursery becomes a 
soccer field, a Boy Scout campout, a graduation stage. We knew of them but 
they knew nothing of us. He was the master of his own deception; our exile 
the sacrifice for his salvation. In the end, there were just seven standing in a 
cemetery on a rock hard February day.


Little Miss Shorecrest

Hughes, Jessika

Forces 
Volume 2024 Article 57 
4-15-2024 
Pavillion 
Jessika Hughes 
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.collin.edu/forces 
Recommended Citation 
Hughes, Jessika (2024) "Pavillion," Forces: Vol. 2024, Article 57. 
Available at: https://digitalcommons.collin.edu/forces/vol2024/iss1/57 
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inclusion in Forces by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@Collin. For more information, please contact 
mtomlin@collin.edu. 
5
F O R C E S
2 0
2 4
Pavillion
Jessika Hughes


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