CURRENT MISSION

To embrace change and foster growth internally and externally to strangers.

ABOUT ME

I believe in growth and taking risks in life. I'm an avid lover of "random-acts-of-kindness." I love watching movies that don't make sense or create an absurd reality (Like "Zoolander"). I'm a believer that there's a bit of good in everyone. I believe in the power of smiling and the good it brings to strangers. I'm very optimistic. I'm a dreamer, but I "dare-to-dream." My favorite motto of the moment is: YOLO, "you only live one, BUT if you live it right, once is all you need."

PHILOSOPHY

I believe that with an optimistic perspective and a shiny smile to boot, there's no way you can't achieve whatever you want. "You" control your own life, so that means that your life won't give in until "you" give up.

我为什么加入 Couchsurfing

I believe that there's more to the world than the room you're residing in, the school you go to or the people that you have in your town. The world is full of adventures, and life is an adventure in itself.

My family has been through quite an adventure. A year ago, my 16-year-old sister went missing for 1-2 weeks. For 2 weeks, we didn't know if she was alive or dead. Until one night, a called arrived from the police. They had found her alive! But she was in Massachusetts. (We live in Florida.) So, my mom and I did what family does best. We dropped everything in our lives, halted it without hesitation, to retrieve our own once "missing" relative. Unfortunately, when we arrived up north, we were told by the police that they refused to release her until she sought medical, psychiatric help. We came to later find out through the psychiatrist, that she had tried to commit suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning but failed, so through that failure, she felt shame and went on a rampant car trip down the state of Florida and then up all the way to the state of Massachusetts, where her car ran out of gas. So, my mom and I made the one of the hardest decisions and decided to stay with her as she endured a 1-2 week in-patient psychiatric hospitalization treatment.

I am on couchsurfing.org because I really actually want to believe in it. I've had countless people tell me how amazing the experience is.

When my mom and I were up north, we knew no one. We had no family up there. We didn't even see snow until we arrived. It was all thanks to a kind friend of a family friend, who didn't even know us BUT knew about our story, knew the pain we were going through, and decided to welcome us into his home. My mom and I stayed with him for 1-2 weeks, and it was actually really fun. We got to eat like the locals did. (Who knew so many people loved Vietnamese food?!) The living experience almost made the reality of the situation almost disappear.

Who knew 8 months later, October of 2014, I would be able to tell that personal story of mine in a scholarship pageant, to an entire crowd of staring eyes.

^At the AKM pageant (Asian Kaleidoscope Month), contestants had to recite a speech from memory about a time when they were "brave," because that was the theme. So for me, it was a mini victory to recite it in front of an audience. Because I couldn't do it in front of my pageant-contestant family. I cried twice.

Being in the situation I was in, was hard. I had to miss school--I actually failed some tests because the information was piling up too fast--and my family's financial situation was hard (my sister's in-patient psychiatric treatment cost us $20,000). But she's better now, and we're all so happy.

So, "why am I on couchsurfing?"
I received an offer for an internship. Having this internship in New York is such a surprise and blessing but also financial burden.
I can't really afford to live in New York for my internship, but I want to, because I believe a life without taking risks isn't a life worth risking at all.

*Note: if you message me, put the word "AKM" as the first word/code, so that I know you read my profile. Also, in addition to your message, please include "why" you would want to couch me.

兴趣

I love life. I love being near my friends, basking in their atmosphere, and just overall being blessed with so many wonderful opportunities set before me. I love implementing photo-shoots and outfit of the day videos. Yes, I do love making videos. I love singing to songs in the car–badly might I add. I love being spontaneous and awkward. (Very)

I have a desire to learn new things, I have a fascination with the world, I want to go exploring, I love reading girly romantic teen novels, I enjoy singing in the car badly, I love going to karaoke bars, I love dancing to EDM music at large festivals with a group of close friends and meeting new "soon-to-be-close" friends. I love acting like a fool with close pals; I love making memories. I dislike business obligations, but I do it because I believe in hard work.

My boyfriend. (So, please understand that I only seek friendship on this site. I love my boyfriend very much.)

• books
• singing
• acting
• festivals
• dancing
• dining
• movies
• reading
• coding
• music
• karaoke
• business
• emergency services

音乐、电影和书籍

Music: It's been so varied to the point where I just love everything. Currently, I'm in love with EDM, techno, chillstep, rap, r&b, classical, whatever!

Movies: Literally anything. I recently have found myself liking documentaries. (It's really weird.) And I personally have loved watching old-timey movies that try to explain a particular era, like new movies that try to depict what happened in World War's. My favorite movie has to be "Atonement." (Legit cried 7 times.)

Books: I love love love teen romance books. (maybe it's because I read too much scientific books that my brain craves mindless banter.) xD

我做过的一件不可思议的事情

I do numerous amounts of things. I have my own Youtube Channel: NguyenWinSituation. I have my own website: www.laurentram.com. I manage a mini-business involving advertisements through videos.

I am proud of what I do, because "I" am the one who's in control of my life and where it leads.

教，学，和分享

I want to teach people that it's okay to smile every once in a while--or in my case, a lot of "while's."

I want to learn SO much. There's a long list of "can'ts" in my book that I'd like to change to "can's." (I legit have a huge bucketlist I can't wait to finish.)

I want to share moments and experiences by creating memories.

我可以与沙发主分享些什么

I can share friendliness and interesting conversations. (I feel like my life's been very interesting thus far.)

I actually want to videotape my experiences in different countries and places. So, having a culmination of different footages, of all the amazing people I meet, of the amazing places and of course the amazing food!
Videos to me is a medium to portray an expression of timeless friendships.

我游览过的国家

Viet Nam

我居住过的国家

United States