26/05/2026
My unusual name, and a story about GUIDANCE
Have you ever wanted something, then told yourself:
“Maybe this just isn’t for me.”
But somehow, life keeps bringing it back to you.
That happened to me twice.
And the strange thing is, both happened in the same afternoon, from a person who knew absolutely nothing about me.
That was when I started believing there might be something bigger than coincidence.
*
AnhTaz is how I encode the name Anh Tassie, a name that has stayed with me for six years in Australia.
People around me - friends, classmates, co-workers, even locals - casually call me Anh Tassie every day, but sometimes they pause for a second, wondering, because Tassie is not a person’s name. It’s the name of a place.
And here's the story of why Tassie is attached to Anh.
It’s a story I want to tell from the very beginning - about the SIGNS I did not understand at the time, about the dreams I thought I had buried forever, and about the way the Universe quietly arranged everything with such strange precision that even now, I still laugh whenever I think about it.
*
Back in Vietnam, while I was grinding through IELTS prep for studying abroad, I had a habit of scrolling through photos of Australia on Instagram to keep myself motivated.
State by state: Sydney glittering. Melbourne buzzing. South Australia with its massive sinkhole at Mount Gambier and endless vineyards stretching to the horizon.
But one place kept pulling my eyes back: Tasmania.
Raw, untouched nature that made you want to breathe deeper just looking at it. Ocean, mountains, forests, and endless lavender fields so purple they almost did not look real.
But what truly sealed it for me was not the scenery. It was the air.
I learned that Tasmania was known for having some of the cleanest air in Australia, even in the world.
Coming from the polluted heat of Vietnam, the idea of living somewhere fresh, cool, and peaceful honestly felt like paradise to me.
I remember quietly thinking to myself: “If I ever get the chance to stay in Australia long-term, I want to live there.”
Then I put that thought aside.
Because that was a dream for the future, something to think about only after I had permanent residency, after life in Australia became stable. At that time, I had not even left Vietnam yet. Tasmania was still just a beautiful idea on my phone screen.
Then one day, right when Tasmania had started staying in my mind, I randomly came across a friend’s post showing endless lavender fields with the caption:
“Tassie - the most beautiful place I’ve ever experienced.”
That was the first time I learned that “Tassie” was the nickname people lovingly used for Tasmania island.
Tassie.
A strange but beautiful name.
And somehow, I liked it immediately.
*
However, at that time, I had already applied for a Master of Media & Communication at Swinburne in Melbourne.
Simply because my older brother was there.
And when you arrive in a completely foreign country for the first time, safety and familiarity suddenly become very important.
Swinburne was the same university my brother had graduated from, and Media was the closest path to the work I had done before in Vietnam.
At that point, every decision I made followed the same rule:
Choose what feels known. Choose what feels safe.
But only a few months after classes started, I realised something difficult:
The Media field, especially in Victoria, probably was not going to lead me to the future I was hoping for.
I was already 30 years old. No background in any other field. And when I started contacting migration agents for advice, most of them did not seem very interested in my situation.
Too difficult. Too uncertain.
I felt completely stuck.
Was I really going to spend years trying to build a life in Australia, only to leave everything behind and return to Vietnam?
*
Then one evening, I randomly came across a live-streamed Q&A session about studying and migration in Australia.
There was a woman speaking - calm and clear. No sales pitch. No unrealistic promises.
The way she explained things - calm, certain, and grounded - made me feel: maybe this person could actually help me.
So, I booked a consultation.
And during that conversation, I admitted everything:
“I’m already 30. My only background is in Media. Is there realistically any path forward for me?”
She did not shake her head.
She simply said:
“Media is genuinely difficult. Could you see yourself moving into something nearby?”
I immediately worried. I did not have any other background.
Then she continued:
“Like… Graphic Design?”
I went completely still.
Because I had never mentioned Graphic Design to her. Not once.
But that was exactly the thing I had quietly wanted long before I ever came to Australia.
At that time, Graphic Design had started becoming a big trend in Vietnam, and I was fascinated by it too.
Watching people arrange colours, images, layouts, and ideas on a computer screen made me feel genuinely excited. I wanted to study this field abroad. And even if I had stayed in Vietnam, I still wanted to learn it and change careers one day.
But when I first spoke to study agents, I saw a shaking head: No background. No portfolio. No chance.
At that time, I did not even know what a portfolio was.
So, I quietly pushed that dream aside and convinced myself it probably was not meant for me.
And now, a stranger - someone who knew absolutely nothing about me - had suddenly mentioned it within the first few minutes of our conversation.
I immediately grabbed onto it: “That’s actually the field I’ve always wanted to study. I just thought I couldn’t get in without a background.”
She nodded calmly: “My team can help you apply for it. And honestly, it would probably give you a better chance in Australia than Media.”
Something inside me loosened a little.
But I still had one more question: “If I study Graphic Design, are there good opportunities in Melbourne?”
Only then did she gently shake her head. “Not for your situation. At your age, you would need to study in a regional area to get more opportunities later.”
“Which regional areas?”
“States with smaller populations. Tasmania, for example.”
The second shock.
Could you imagine my face at that moment?
How could she possibly know?
She had no idea about all those nights I spent fascinated by Tasmania on my phone screen.
No idea about the name “Tassie” I had quietly kept in my memory.
And no idea that I had already imagined myself living there someday, when life became more stable.
Graphic Design.
Tasmania.
Two things I had convinced myself were probably not meant for me.
And somehow, both were mentioned in the same afternoon by someone who had only just met me for the first time.
There’s a quote from The Alchemist, my favourite book, that I have never forgotten:
“When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”
Sitting there that afternoon, I realised those were not just beautiful words from a book anymore.
*
My brother was worried.
He told me that many of his friends had also moved to Tasmania because of the opportunities it could offer later, but in the beginning, they really struggled. Fewer jobs. A quieter lifestyle. Harder for international students trying to earn enough just to survive.
And honestly, his concern was completely valid.
But for the first time since arriving in Australia, something inside me no longer wanted the safest option.
Instead of fear, I felt curious.
Excited.
I wanted to find out why Tasmania kept calling me there.
Because somehow, the Universe had already pointed me toward that place twice, before I had even dared to seriously think about it myself.
My application was submitted - yes, for a Bachelor of Design at the University of Tasmania.
And unexpectedly, after a short time in Australia, I took my first steps into the very place I had once admired through my phone screen.
*
Then, many more strange coincidences happened in Tasmania - too many for me to stop believing in SIGNS and GUIDANCE.
If you have ever felt a strange pull toward a place, a dream, or a path you could not explain, I would love to hear your story too.
Mine was only just beginning. Come with me, and I'll tell you more.🪻
Anh Tassie
