I Don't Want To Be a Princess
Essay by Truong Quỳnh

Essay Writing Competition 2025
Category: 12-15 years
- Commendation -

Senior category: Commendation

I don't want to be A Princess - Essay by Trương Ngọc Minh Quỳnh

I Don't Want To Be A Princess

"Would you like to be a princess when you grow up?" That’s what adults used to ask me when I was five. I always said no. Why? Because in every fairy tale I watched, the princess just… waited. Waited for magic, a prince, a miracle, or sometimes, common sense.

I didn’t want to wait—I wanted to do. I didn’t want glass slippers; I wanted steel boots. I was born in a small mountain city in Vietnam called Pleiku. My world smells like rain and sticky rice. It sounds like roosters at 5 a.m. and motorbikes honking like geese in traffic. People are kind, but life is tough. You either grow a backbone or you stay invisible. I chose the backbone.

My parents are my reality check and inspiration. My mother is an overworked accountant who can calculate a budget faster than I can finish instant noodles. My father is a market inspector—he can smell a scam from two blocks away. And me? I’m the girl who talks too much, draws too often, and dreams too big. I’ve got paint stains on my trophies and bruises on my ambitions. At 13, I’ve already stood on stage to debate about poverty and the environment—in English. I didn’t win because I had perfect grammar. I won because I spoke from the gut. And maybe because I added a little joke about cats running for president. When I look at my world, I see contrast. Children scrolling TikTok while others scroll through garbage for food. Billboards screaming "Dream Big!" while some kids can’t afford a pencil. Some nights I go to bed thinking not about crushes or pop stars—but about how I can fix this mess with a heart, a pen, and a plan.

In the future, I want to become a fierce global voice. Not to sound smart in suits, but to make sense of a world that sometimes doesn’t. I’ll study International Relations—not just to shake hands but to shake ideas. I want to negotiate peace like it’s poetry and talk to presidents the way I talk to my little brother—honest, no nonsense, with maybe a cookie as a bribe.

My dream? To build bridges, not borders. To make policies feel like promises. And to make sure that one day, no girl has to choose between being a princess or being powerful. She can be both—or neither. This is my world: imperfect, loud, colorful, a little chaotic—like my bedroom. And this is my future: unpredictable, unstoppable, and absolutely mine. So, don’t give me a crown. Give me a microphone. Because I have things to say. And I’m just getting started.

In the Age category 12 - 15 years, Trương's essay is a wonderful personal reflection. Congratulations on your powerful essay, Trương! We certainly will remember your voice! Well done!

Truong is 13 years old and attends THCS Nguyễn Du in Pleiku/ Vietnam. English as additional language. Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese) as home language.