Proud to be HUFLITers #05 | Miss HUFLIT Le Nguyen Tu Anh: From FOMO to the Confidence to Shine on Her Own Terms

FOMO and the vicious circle of being busy

The fear of being left behind – FOMO (fear of missing out) – is a very familiar state for Gen Z. Stepping into university and seeing everyone around her so active and confident, Tu Anh was unconsciously swept along by that pace.

To fill every gap in her timetable, Tu Anh signed up for a great many activities, tried her hand at all sorts of roles and stayed busy from morning until night. Yet all that busyness brought no sense of achievement. Constantly chasing the crowd, she eventually realised she was simply drifting.

Tu Anh reflects candidly: “I took part in a lot and tried a lot, but I did not really know what I was working towards. I realised I was rushing purely out of fear of being left behind, and had forgotten what my actual destination was”. Directionless busyness – the trap Tu Anh had unwittingly walked into at the very threshold of university.

Slowing down to find the right fit

Recognising that endlessly following the crowd was exhausting and brought no results, Tu Anh decided to pause and work out what genuinely suited her. Rather than joining many activities, she chose one specific milestone to test herself: the Miss & Mister HUFLIT competition.

For Tu Anh, this was not a place to seek fame or applause. It was an environment in which to step outside her comfort zone, face pressure and discover where her limits lay. From those very experiences she identified the three things that mattered most to her: fit, the willingness to commit, and the desire to create value.

That grounded outlook came through clearly in the question-and-answer round. Asked to choose between intellect, beauty and character, Tu Anh was firm: beauty alone is not enough; a person only has real worth when all three come together. That is what “shining on your own terms” means – an appeal that comes from knowledge and character, not looks alone.

Bringing the student voice to real-world forums

With the Miss HUFLIT title as a springboard, rather than stopping at entertainment events, Tu Anh chose to use it to reach academic spaces aligned with her field of study. And in doing so, the support of the Faculty of International Relations and Communications played an extremely important role.

Balancing a packed schedule of activities with classes has never been easy. Thanks to the understanding and support of the University, and especially the lecturers of the Faculty of International Relations and Communications at HUFLIT, Tu Anh no longer felt the pressure and aimlessness of before. That peace of mind and the backing of her lecturers gave the third-year student the confidence to use her English and her diplomatic thinking to take part in major forums.

From the exchange programme with Yeungnam University (Korea) and the ASEAN Volunteers Festival to the Vietnam Youth Conference on Sustainable Development (Mock COP 2025)… Tu Anh has proven her real capability. She uses what she has learned at HUFLIT to communicate confidently, build connections and contribute a young person’s voice to international issues.

A practical message

Looking back on the journey from a student floundering in FOMO to an international youth delegate, Tu Anh has realised that titles and trophies are not the final destination. What she is proudest of is having dared to break out of the vicious circle of “doing whatever everyone else is doing”.

“Breaking out of the cocoon is not about becoming someone else; it is about being the very best version of yourself.”

The message SHINE ON YOUR OWN TERMS that Tu Anh sends to HUFLITers is a clear one: do not stay busy chasing the crowd merely out of fear of being left behind. Take the time to find your own strengths, stay true to them, and the HUFLIT environment will help you make the most of your ability.