A Changed Life Ha Vu, Volunteer From the November 2000 issue. I work as an electronics technician in Silicon Valley and volunteer at A&PIWC; when I can. I came to the U.S. in my late teens. I was very shy and carried many feelings of guilt on my shoulders, being raised in a Catholic family and being gay. My family expected me to marry and have many children. I am the only boy in my family and was born after my parents had six daughters. This put even more pressure on me to be married and have children. Mom and dad seemed to love me more. They treated me like a prince and gave me everything I asked for if they could. I can say that in my childhood I had a wonderful life. My parents and six older sisters always expressed much love for me. When I was about 12 or 13, I began to notice that I was different in my sexuality. I began to know that I was gay. My friends talked more about girls but I did not. I started feeling isolated. My grades at school began going down. My parents and Catholic faith told me to pray in times of trouble, to ask for God's help, so I went to church every morning and prayed again before I went to sleep. I was hoping God would change me. I remember asking, "Why me? Did I do something wrong?" I was hoping that one day I would wake up and everything would be okay and I would feel like everyone else instead of feeling so different. When I came to the U. S., I still felt guilt about being gay. Then I met Loc in the late 1980's in Massachusetts in a small town with just over 10,000 people, only about 200 of whom were Vietnamese. Loc was a volunteer translator for Catholic Charities. I was very happy to meet another Vietnamese. Loc helped me in so many ways, from applying to school, to teaching me to drive, as well as teaching me English. After about a year, I left for California to go to school. Many changes have taken place in my life since knowing Loc in Massachusetts, but even now after being in the U.S. for over ten years, when I look back, I see how much Loc has changed my life. The year that I knew him is a golden time in my life that I will never forget. I learned so much from him. I found out later that Loc was HIV-positive and died of the disease in the early 90's. One of the things Loc said to me often was: "Happiness is a simple thing that happens to us every day like birds singing as the sun rises." My relationship with Loc was the love of a friend helping a friend. I wish he were here today so that I could thank him for all he did for our community and me. His life of helping others inspired me to give back to my community. Seeing Loc help others, I saw how to act with compassion and to be honest, direct and happy. Want to give back to your community? Call 415.292.3400 for more information about volunteering at A&PIWC.;