‘We Are Not Related:’ Four Nguyens Make A Statement On Their Yearbook Page
Four Vietnamese high school students with the surname Nguyen found the perfect way to tell the world that no, they are not related, on their yearbook page.
Some names are common in their country of origin, like “Smith” in English speaking countries and “Nguyen” in Vietnam. These four ladies had quite literally had enough of people asking the usual questions, like “Are you all related?”
In a post on the /r/funny subreddit forum from last week, an image of the four students on their yearbook page has gone viral. They must have gone to a huge amount of trouble to get this just right, but they managed to line up all four of their photos on the same page.
However, instead of the usual inspirational quote underneath their names they put together an entire sentence, reading “We are not related.” The post linked to the Imgur image included below.
Anyone who knows about all the paperwork and hassle involved in obtaining a year book during the senior year of high school must be quite impressed with their achievement. The four ladies involved had to confirm their images would be all in one row and had to obtain permission from the editors of the Yearbook Club to add their message, all without causing any problems with faculty advisors. Whatever hoops they had to jump through, the result is epic.
As reported by Huffington Post, there was no description on the original Reddit post, so it is unknown which high school the four Nguyens attended, but we do know their names are Alice, Kim, Theresa, and Vivian. The post itself carried the title: “It was they last time they would say it, and they said it well.”
Some of the comments on the post are interesting, explaining the original of the popular Vietnamese name. Reddit user Fidelstikks explained that it has to do with the dynasties of the feudal lords in ancient Asia and people changing their name to honor their lords.
“Many Vietnamese changed their name or were rewarded the honored name “Nguyen” during the Nguyen dynasty’s rule, so a man who had his name changed, would marry a woman, who’s [sic] name would now be Nguyen, who’d have many children, all of them all being Nguyen as well, and so on until now, many Vietnamese surname is Nguyen.”
As the name Nguyen is actually pronounced “win,” other users made a play on words. One commented that it sounds like a “Nguyen Nguyen” scenario, explaining this by saying “thanks for the gold, I finally feel like a Nguyenner.”
As can be seen from an article on Gawker a while back, the idea is not totally original, as eight Vietnamese students at a high school in San Jose did something similar back in 2012. They lined up all eight of their photos, using their yearbook quotes to read, “We know what you’re thinking, and no, we’re not related.”
It turns out students in the U.S. are not the only ones who manage to do something original with their yearbook entries. Spanish News in English reported a story a while back of a blind man who used to take his guide dog with him to classes in Spain.
Arturo Diaz Benitez and his friends were studying social work at the University of Cadiz, and students were so accustomed to seeing the black Lab guide dog, Idena, accompanying Diaz Benitez in the halls of the University, they decided to make a plan.
When the yearbook was published, Idena was there on the page, right next to his owner just as if the faithful hound had graduated too.
.@RoyalVetCollege, I thought you might like this. A guide dog included in the graduation photo of a university. http://t.co/22EsUfdaVD
— Pashi (@Er_Pashi) October 2, 2015
