"Lucky to be Unlucky" by Jenny Le

News Eve 2009. Like ever new years my mother and I went to the temple to pray for another safe year. When you enter the temple there's a place where you go to find out your fortune for the upcoming year. I picked up the cup full of fortune sticks and shook it until a fortune fell out. I took it to the monk so he can translate for me because the fortunes are always so confusing. The monk looked at me and he told me to sit down. He said,” My child. You're born the year of the monkey and this year the stars are not on your side. You must be very careful and be prepare for anything that comes your way. This year will be hard, this year will be a very unlucky year for you.”

At that moment I didn't really care for this Buddhist talk, after all I am half Catholic. Boy was I wrong. A week after, my boyfriend of the time cheated on me. And that relationship got worst and worst as the year progress.( I still think back to that relationship today and wonder why I was so foolish to stay and be with someone that treated me like that, maybe it was bad luck that I was so blind or maybe it was my stupidity.) Heartbroken, I went to my best friend of 6 years for help. Instead of helping she told me lies and made the situation I was in bigger than it really was. It soon became an episode of Jerry Springer. Tired of the drama I cut them out of my life.

My mom, the Buddhist in the family, always reminded me that this wasn't my year and that I must be careful when I go out and prepare for any accident. I just laughed at her for being so worry over nothing. But I should have listened. Two days after I got my license my car broke down, a week after I got my car fixed someone hit the back of my car, homecoming weekend I got a ticket for an expired parking meter, and then the day of my birthday it died again. I thought,” No way this is not because I'm born the year of the monkey. No one else has this bad luck except me.”

The week before my birthday, my friend Nhan Ngyuen past away. Two weeks after I got together with a group of friends to mourn for our lost, that's when I realized I'm not the only one to have this bad luck. My friend Peter, who is only 3 months older than me, was arrested because some one threw a rock at his sister's car and he threaten those people with a bat trying to protect her. Then my friend Linnhy got into an accident and had to go to the hospital. But it wasn't until the day my parents kicked me out that I accepted unlucky fate. My parents and I got in a fight about me staying out so late one night. My mom was screaming about how I'm a horrible daughter and that I don't work as hard as other Asian kids she knows. Then in that moment of anger she told me to get out and never come back. She screamed,” Get out! You can't live with out me. I want to see how will you live without me. When you step out that door tell me and I'll go order a grave stone that said you're dead so everyone knows I don't have a daughter like you any more.”

I was frighten and lost. I didn't know who I could count on. I sat on the corner of the park, crying in fear of not knowing where I could go and in anger for my unlucky fate god/ Buddha gave me. Just then Hung called.

“Hello” I answered.
“Jenny?”
“Yeah.”
“What's wrong? Why are you crying?”
“I'm not.”
“Don't lie. What's wrong?”
“I got kicked out.”
“What? Why?”
“Cause I came home late last night.”
“That's retarded. I'm sorry I shouldn't have kept you out so late last night.”
“It's cool. It's already done with.”
“Where are you? I'll come get you OK? It'll be fine I'll take care of you Jen.”

I told him where I was and he speed to the park in minutes. The first thing Hung did was hugged me tight and told me that thing will be fine. Hung was the best thing that happen to me this whole year I thought. Four days after I got kicked out my dad called and told me to come home. When I got home my parents acted as nothing had happen. And they even gave me a bit of freedom to go here and there with out blowing up.

Now it's November and looking back to the unlucky fates and I found that there are luck laying with in them. Linnhy, my friend who got in the accident, went to the hospital and when she went to get herself test they found out that she has a breast caner cell and they killed it just in time. Our friend Nhan, who passed away, was in pain when he was alive so it was right for us to let him go (even though it was hard for all of us). Finally, me... Within my unlucky fate I lost many friendships but I found out who my real friends are. I found the people who will walk in when the rest of the world walks out on me, without me calling. And I found the person, who I know that if the the sky falls he will always be there to hold it up for me. Like in Pandora's box they found hope, in my unlucky fate I found Hung Pham.