Model answer
Written by 8020 teachers. Do not memorise it — take the structure and the way ideas are developed, then speak about your own life.
The event that stands out most is the day I moved to Ho Chi Minh City on my own, right after finishing school, to start university. It happened almost six years ago now, in early September, and I remember the date mainly because it coincided with the first real storm of the season, which meant I arrived at the bus station completely soaked, dragging a suitcase that wasn't built for that kind of weather. My parents weren't there — they'd wanted to come, but I'd talked them out of it, telling them I needed to do this part alone, which in hindsight was probably more about proving something to myself than any practical necessity. I remember standing outside the station for a while, not quite ready to call the landlord, just taking in how loud and indifferent the city felt compared to home. It's memorable, I think, less because of any single dramatic moment and more because it was the clearest dividing line in my life so far — everything before it felt like one continuous childhood, and everything after felt like it was actually mine to shape. I still think about that soaked, slightly panicked version of myself whenever I'm nervous about something new now, mostly because it's a useful reminder that I've done the disorienting, starting-from-nothing thing before and it turned out fine.