Introduce yourself, what is it you do, where you are from, etc!

my name is Dayton do and i’m actually just a Vietnamese 16-year-old teenager in his junior year of high school. i was born, where i currently live, in southern California and i have grown up to spend multiple years playing volleyball, the past two years of high school on the team, and i absolutely love it.

What inspires you everyday?

i wake up every day motivated by my amazing girlfriend. she helps me get through every single day and she supports me through every rough patch, dedicating her time to listening to me until i feel better. shes the reason why i want to keep going in life and she has convinced me that it’s not too late for anything. with her, my life made a complete 180.

What is some words of wisdom you live by?

Some words of wisdom that I live by actually come from myself. I have my own beliefs and one of them is to only care about the people who care about you. There is no point in helping someone who wouldn’t do the same back for you, it’s just a waste of time and effort for a one sided relationship. Another belief I live by is to have no regrets. No matter what happened in the past, it’s over. It’s gone. Everything I have done in the past made me who I am today and I firmly believe that I am a better person than I was a year ago. Holding onto a regret helps you do absolutely nothing, it holds you back and makes you hesitant to do anything related to the regret. As bad as a mistake may be, it’s in the past. It’s okay to remember it, but not to dwell on it.

What is a positive message you would like give others?

A positive message I would like to give others is to never disrespect yourself. Whatever you do maintain your self respect, don’t let other people walk over you or use you. It’s important to stand up for yourself especially when times get rough. And when life does get hard, it’s only temporary. If there is a beginning there is an end. What matters the most is how you get out of the tough situation because that is what changes you.

What is your ultimate goal in life?

My ultimate goal in life is to make it out of college with a degree in a career that I am passionate about in order to make a good amount of money to provide for myself and my girlfriend. I’d use the money to settle down in a house and start a family with two kids to grow old and finally retire.

Last question how do you feel about life and what changes did you make to be where you are now?

I feel like life just sucks in general. You grow up having to go to school, you go to college for even more school, and then you graduate to work until you’re old and worn out. But what you make of those experiences changes the value and worth of those times. You can make your high school life the most exciting years you’ll ever live or you can secure a good job to live a comfortable life with whatever you want to do. Unexpected things happen and what you do in reaction to those things is what makes you who you are. The changes I made to make it to where I am right now is to always give love another shot. I know I’m still just a junior in high school, but I have had countless relationships that just fell off for one reason or another. Sometimes they worked out sometimes they didn’t. But I always had the mentality that I can’t let the last relationship hold me back and I can’t judge everyone based off of my last relationship. With that I got to who I’m with now, happiest I’ve ever been.