Do Hyun Lim/Third Post/Tues 9-11 A.M.

             Life is full of events. Some are enjoyable while others may be frustrating. Some are mixtures of both. The interesting part is, even frustrating experiences can turn out to be enjoyable in certain circumstances.

             I often saw people using cellphones with broken screens for a long time and thought "Wow, that must be very uncomfortable, it's great that my cellphone is still intact." It never crossed my mind that the same could happen to me one day.

             A day before the tragic event, I was very excited because it was the day of my trip to Incheon with three of my friends. We gathered at Hwegi station and headed to our destination. Time was valuable since it is only a two day trip, and we filled our stomachs with kimbab and sandwiches along the way. After having lots of fun at the travels, we went to a Jjim-jil-bang to get some sleep. As with most Jjim-jil-bangs, it had a hard, marble floor and looked shiny and fancy.

             Despite the boiling weather outside that was identical to the sauna next door, they did not turn on the air conditioning. Only three fans were available and the spot was already taken by several lucky people. I had no choice but to sleep somewhere else, which I failed because I woke up many times. After two or so hours of the repetition of waking and sleeping, a spot was finally available near the fan! Excited, I took my pillow and almost ran to the spot, without realizing that my cellphone was half-out of my pocket. My mind was definitely someplace else until I heard a shattering noise, "Wajangchang." The cellphone's screen was into pieces and unlike the usable phones I saw that belonged to other people; my touchscreen did not work at all.

             The first involuntary no-cellphone day was indeed uncomfortable. I could not receive nor make any calls and kakaotalks. It was, however, the second travel day so I managed it with lots of fun. The next day was Monday so I went to the repair shop right away after school. They charged me 70,000 won for changing the screen and unexpectedly asked me, "Which color do you want?" I was about to say "white," which was the original color but changed my mind to gold because I thought it would be interesting. Now, I have a phone which I am quite satisfied with, having a gold front and white back.

             Looking back, I think breaking my cellphone could have been a rough experience for me. Like magic, what may have been an unpleasant experience turned into a good and memorable one. It is all how I make it to be.

Yukyung Bang/Third Post/Narrative Composition Tuesday 9-11 a.m.

201301511 Yukyung Bang

 

I sometimes hear my friends from high school saying "I wish I could go back to the school days." This is perfectly understandable. They miss the times spent with their friends and teachers in the classroom. Even though how hard it was to prepare for the university entrance exam, painful memories were subject to fade away with time. However, there is one memory that does not grow dim even after four years.

 

It was 8:30 in the morning when all other students had already arrived at school. As we were third year students, we used to do English listening test before the first class started. I was sitting down with my textbook opened when the TV was turned on. The school's vice principal appeared on the screen, looking angry. He said in a firm voice, "This is not acceptable in our school." He turned on a video, and all my classmates stared at me. In the video, I was walking down the street with my boyfriend holding hands.

 

Later, I got an explanation from my homeroom teacher. My school was a coed school and dating between students were strictly banned as studying should be the top priority. Boys and girls couldn't talk at the corridor and even send text messages to each other. Obviously, I thought this outdated rule was garbage and didn't follow it. One Saturday after school, I met my boyfriend to walk home together. Unfortunately, the vice principal, Mr. Dolores Umbridge, saw us on his way home and started recording us with the black box in his car to broadcast so that the entire school could see it. It was an exemplary punishment given to us.

 

My homeroom teacher said she was disappointed because she thought I was a "good student" and warned me to break up with him immediately. She also said that I could no more stay at school for self-study after school. One month of cleaning work was given to me as a punishment. I ignored them all. Instead, I went to see the vice principal. It was already after he read through all the text messages exchanged between us from the phone he had taken from my boyfriend. I told him that what he had done was a crime and that's what should not be acceptable, not us. He seemed a lot surprised to see a student rebelling against him.

 

With help from my parents who believed and supported their daughter, I could eventually receive an apology from him only because he didn't want to make a big thing out of it. Even though things seemed to end well, I had to spend the rest of my school days under enormous stress. Teachers did not treat me as before, pointing their fingers at me. One of them put a curse on me that I won't be able to get into the university that I wanted to go. Even my best friend told me, "You were too reckless. You should have acted more maturely."

 

However, I don't regret what I did. Rather, I think I would do the same whenever I recall this memory. I may have been reckless but I knew what I did. Yes, it wasn't easy to be hated by others. However, I am proud of it because, it means that I believed in, and thus stood up for myself.

Kim Young Woo 201203937 First Draft Narrative Composition Tues

When My Mind Went Blank

Have you ever experienced your mind going white right when it is the time to present or perform on stage? The sheer fear and panic are traumatic enough for you to hate going up on stage every again. Before my first year in my previous university, UC Riverside, I never had the opportunity to perform on stage in front of an audience. College, after living our whole lives monitored and supervised by our parents, is an opportunity for students to make new experiences and take risks for themselves in a new phase that can help a teenager transition into their adult life. Moreover, only with the minimal knowledge we have about the craziness of college life, we are shipped off to survive all by ourselves.

The first week of university at Riverside was very chaotic, getting situated in the new dormitory and seeing all the new faces that I would be encountering for the next year. This week was not only filled with overly excited self introductions, but it was crowded with frat members and various clubs at the freshmen dorms trying to lure the new comers into joining their organization.

Maybe it was my clothing attire or the overly excited demeanour I exerted, but I was approached with, "do you like to party?" by many upperclassmen who were trying to recruit new freshmen members. As an extrovert, I took this opportunity and went out to a different organization every single day. Through this crazy week, I was introduced to the club that I would be heavily involved in, KASA, Korean American Student Association. My prior knowledge before entering this club was its notoriety of being a club for partying and drinking, hence their nickname Korean Alcoholic Smoking Association. I mean, Koreans aren't known to be heavy drinkers and smokers for no reason.

During the first general meeting, I realized that my misconceptions about this club was a biased generalization of what Koreans liked to do. The members seemed really enthusiastic about the club and their mission to spread awareness of the Korean American culture on the school campus. One of the reasons that drew me to this club in particular was that through it, I would be able to meet other members of KASA from different schools all over California. What really stuck out to me during this meeting was when they made an announcement of an event that the club took part in annually with all the other KASAs in the other UC's and Cal State Universities in California.

This event was the freshmen dance off, where dance teams of freshmen from many different California universities would compete in a dance off. Right after announcing how big this event was, the staff members showed the newcomers the dance off video of Riverside KASA from the previous year on the big screen. Watching this video, I felt a sudden rush of pride flowing through my veins and I felt a burning desire to represent my school.

The actual competition was only a month away and our team needed to get down to business if we had any chance of placing in the event. The next month was filled with night practices almost everyday, practices even going through the next morning through the latter half of the month. Some practices, after practicing for twelve hours through the night, the team would often eat breakfast at the dorm cafeteria talking nonsense due to being delirious from no sleep.

Having to endure the cold desert nights of Riverside and having to memorize numerous difficult choreography pieces in less than a month, the practices weren't easy. Moreover, the majority of us never had any prior dancing experiences and the group that started out with more than 50 freshmen, ended up being left with the twenty something of us.

Even until the day before D-day, we weren't ready. Spending the night before the performance day dancing away like machines rehearsing our six minutes dance set countless number of times, I can remember the zombie like face expressions of the other members. Thus, none of us were able to go back to our dormitory rooms until we had to change into our outfits and prep ourselves to go on stage.

With no sleep, I did not feel tired at all because of the jitters and excitement of finally being able to perform on stage. Our school was the third from last to perform and we weren't allowed to watch any other schools to perform until we finished our performances. Waiting backstage with all the other schools in their uniforms left me feeling more nervous.

"Riverside, you guys are up."

I remember hearing this and feeling my heart drop. To top that, when I got on stage, I remember looking at all the blank face expressions in the audience since it was a competition and other schools didn't want to express any kind of support other than their own team. This didn't help my already pounding heart and all of a sudden, my head went blank. I felt stuck and my body froze. A voice was screaming inside my head, "oh my gosh, Alex, you are screwed. You are going to fail the team. Where are you supposed to be standing in the beginning?" I couldn't remember literally anything I had been practicing over the past month, let alone know the position I was supposed to be in. I thought I was going to have a panic attack.

Suddenly, I heard the opening of our song being played over the huge speakers. At this moment, I still cannot truly understand what had happened to me that moment. It was as is if something had took control of my body. Without actually being aware of what I was doing, my body began to move on its own to the music. Muscle memory had come to rescue and in the end, the countless hours I had put into mastering all the dance pieces had paid off. This scary experience had a happy ending, but it was all due to effort. Hard work paid off, and we ended up placing third out of twenty different schools. For sure, I will never be able to forget that feeling of sheer terror when my mind saw white.

Kim Young Woo 20123937

Yousun Jung/Third Post(p.50)/Tues 9-11am

Experiencing A Day of the HIV-positive

I was on the way to the hospital. Summer was coming but I was shivering in an autorickshaw. I was afraid what I would listen from doctor. I was afraid because I couldn't stop thinking 'if I have to wrap up my life…', and out of fear and anxiety, I just closed my eyes. In the end, there was only one sentence in my mind: How did they deal with all these emotions?

I was working as an NGO worker in India. I lived with children from persecuted tribes and I also worked for people living with HIV/AIDS. I was in charge of administrative documents, mainly to connect children with sponsors in Korea. As I visited them regularly, I had to stay healthy not only for myself but also for them.

I always had plenty of work to do and it sometimes made me exhausted and sick. One night, I felt fever. I took medicine before going to bed. The next morning what I saw in the mirror was closer to zombie or Frankenstein rather than human being. I looked very bad, and indeed I couldn't even get out of my room. I canceled all the schedule and took a rest. I knew that I had been overstraining, so I didn't take it seriously. I just thought it would be okay soon.

But it wasn't. I couldn't even drink water. I suffered from diarrhea, vomiting, high fever and shivering all day long. Everyone in the same house got nervous. They were so worried about me, but it was not the only reason.

At that time, pig influenza was widespread in the city. At least two or three people died in a day, and that was what we read every day in the newspaper. Furthermore, a day before I got sick, I had visited one of the HIV-positive family, and there was a woman who had had same symptoms with mine. I started to get nervous, and I could see that others felt the same way. I googled 'symptoms of pig influenza' and it didn't help me out. One of my co-worker might have done same thing and she asked me: "Didi(sister in Hindi), do you cough?" That was the only positive thing I could fine. I didn't cough.

When I finished vomiting, I thought I would not get better by myself. I really didn't want to go out as I felt like vomiting all the time, but I had to go to see a doctor. I went to the hospital, and it was only five minutes distance by autorickshaw. In the rickshaw, I started to think about my situation. I might be infected with pig influenza or something else. I might be a host of disease or virus. I may be die. I might not go back to Korea again. I imagined every possible negative scenarios, and it was all fine including getting HIV-positive. It would be so miserable and terrible, but it was me who had chosen life in India. I thought I could somehow get on my life. But if I die here, then how would my parents feel? It was me who had chosen, not them. I felt deeply sorry for them and I felt like crying. Even in hospital, I felt very uncomfortable. If I had been a host of any disease, I am causing harm to other people. I felt guilty just because of being there.

When I saw a doctor, he asked me some simple question with bored face. He briefly wrote prescription and I carefully asked him: "Is this any possibility of pig influenza?"

He didn't even look at me and answered. "No." I sighed in relief.

I cried a lot that night because I felt like I experienced 'A day of HIV-positive people'. They felt anxiety. They were feeble. They felt guilty. That's what I felt throughout the day. But there were big differences between me and them. I was not alone. I could take a rest all day. I had co-workers who lived with me and took care of me with love. I had no worry about medical expenses. Unlike me, they were mother or father who had to make a living, having worried about financial situation from living expenses to medical expenses.

I realized how strong they were. Some of them really wanted to die, and it usually meant that they needed support and help from others. Mostly they struggled their lives every day and they never gave up. They said it's because of their family, children, and love. It was love that kept them strong.

What I did in India was not to spoil poor people by pouring food and money. What I did was to stand together when they struggle to make it, to listen to them how they felt or how they are, and to sympathize with them. It was precious moment of my life that I could deeply sympathize with them. That night, I realized that EVERY MAN—not only them—are fatal. I know it sounds very natural, but it is different that you know something and you feel it by experience.

Yousun Jung

 

Hyeonju Oh/Third post/Tues 9-11 a.m

Live enough to die

 

Are you sure that you enjoyed your life? Sometime, people think that sacrificing their present for the future is a right choice. So they miss some beautiful scenes or moments of the life. Well, I did also. But I changed my way to see the life by the chance. Here is my story which describes the awful misunderstanding and the death.

 
When I was a freshman, I was really enjoying my first vacation. I put all the vacation plans off what I made for studying. The day that makes my life changed was started just like the other days.After I saw a movie in my bed, I just stretched my arms and suddenly I felt that there is something inside my armpit. In specific, there was a little ball around the right breast. Touching the armpit with quivering fingers, I tried to remain calm under pressure, but I couldn't stop thinking like tragic heroin in drama series. 'What is it? Why I didn't know until right now?' Finally, I assured that I have a tumor.

At that time, I just lie down in the dark room and fell into despair rather than went to hospitals. Lack of medical knowledges made me think that all tumors would definitely be the cancer. In addition, the size of ball was like a coin and this fact was enough to regard myself as a terminal cancer patient. I didn't want to go to hospitals because I worried that a doctor formulates that I have the breast cancer. The time was really painful. 'How can I tell this to parents, Will Idie? Is the death suffering?' I kept asking myself with laying blame for the god. And finally, I noticed that I've done nothing special in my life for myself.

I saw a list for myself called the bucket list. From activities that I've never done before, the list was full of skepticism. But I noticed that I can't do those things, because of money. So I decided to satisfy to live fully in daily life. Since then, this decision made amazing change. The noise of cicadas which always disturbed my sleep, came like a sunshine in the middle of the forest. And when I met a friend, I saw her beautiful eyes, her shimmering eyelashes, and her wrinkles when she smiles. I heard every word that she made and it made me happy. I felt that I live my life fully. 24 hours are long enough to erase skepticism for my life. The summer that I really hate was wonderful like the winter that I love.

After 4 days, I went to the hospital. The doctor investigated my armpit with serious face expression. Because he didn't say any words, so I told him first. "Do I have breast cancer?" then he saw me. "What? The breast cancer?" then he laughed. "It is sure that everyone can be cancer patient… but not that easy. You are not a cancer patient." "But, why the ball is in my armpit?"  "If you get tired for a long time, your lymph glands get swollen." I smiled. It was totally misunderstanding! After I got the result of specific investigation, the fact that I'm not a cancer patient was being apparent.

Although I'm not a patient, because of the memory of the day, I always try to live like someone who waits the death. I don't want to regret my life. That misunderstanding makes me indulge daily life, and thanks for that, I can adore everything I faced. The death makes my life precious. And it helps me to live fully until now.

Hyun Jee Kim/Essay Assignment (p. 50)/Narrative Composition(2) Tuesday & 09:00~11:00

                                The Unforgettable Moment of My Life

Nine times. That's how many times I moved in my 12 years of primary education in three different countries. Anyone who might see this might think, I might be an expert or professional when it comes to moving and meeting new people. I thought I was too. But I wasn't.

This all happened on my graduation day.

"I don't want this to end."

Hugging my friends and crying, I kept repeating these words during my last week of high school and till my graduation day. At the time, I was 18 years old, a senior in high school. But unlike my friends who were already accepted and leaving the country for college, I didn't know what I was going to do. I had declined offers from American universities and instead was waiting for a reply from Japan. With an unclear future ahead of me, I was living under a mixture of both excitement and mostly fear.

With studying for the SATs and dealing with flooding school work and after school activities, I was waiting impatiently for this moment all through high school. I really was. But when the time came, I wasn't.

At the beginning of the graduation ceremony, I was okay. I was fine and even excited that I was finally graduating high school.

But as the class valedictorian finished her speech and we threw our graduation hats, my emotions broke. I couldn't stop crying.

"What am I going to do now? I'm going to miss this so much!"

Realizing that I just graduated high school and thinking about my future, I couldn't hold back my tears. Some were happy tears but most were as a result of my fear. I was scared that I wouldn't get into a university and that even if I got in, I wouldn't fit in.

I had thought that after all these years, I was brave and confident enough to meet people. After 12 years of moving around it had felt like a yearly routine for me to move schools and meet new people. But after thinking about leaving a place where I spent most of my childhood years, I was scared.

When it was time to take pictures, my family walked towards me. They were quite surprised to see me crying. I could tell that my mother was holding back her tears. She came up to me and said the words that I still remember until today.

"You can do it. You've done this before. I can't wait for what's to come next for your life."

Right away, I stopped crying and hugged my family. I think that was when it clicked; I shouldn't be scared, but should be grateful and happy. Looking at my dad who had been living alone for all those years and my mother who had been single-handily raising me, I knew that I should be grateful for the opportunities that I had been given and excited for what was to come next. I kept her words near my heart.

My mother was right. In that week, I received my acceptance letter from Japan and later that year I started my college life there. My experience in Japan turned out to be one of the most unforgettable and best times of my life. I had had faith in myself that I could do well in college and be excited for the future.

Every path in our life will not be easy or exciting, but I will always know that whatever comes, I should be excited.

 

Hyun Jee Kim

Changyu Kang/Essay Assignment (p. 50)/Narrative Composition(2) Tuesday & 09:00~11:00

Intern's Horrible First Day As you know, all kinds of first day are great. First day you go to university, travel a place you have wanted to visit, or go out with someone whom you have always wanted. But my first day as intern was not great, rather horrible!   I worked at online marketing agency for 7 months, January to July. I had really wanted this position because I was quite tired of school life which I ran for 1 year after finishing my army duty without break. And at that time, I wanted to experience a real business work. Since my first major is advertisement and I am interested in, marketing agency was a field that I want to drown myself. As result I got a position as intern in online marketing agency and I was very excited. Since my first work starts at 4th Jan which is very first weekday of 2016, I thought timing is also perfect. But things are very different from I had thought.  January 4th, I still vividly remember everything of the day. I arrived at the office at 9:20 am,(our attendance time was 9:30 am) and an accounting clerk took me to my place. He also gave me a laptop with dual monitor and said "It would be very useful for your work." I said "Thank you sir." Morning passed very fast because I had to set my laptop and greet colleagues. When I greet a staff who is in same team with me, he asked me when will you finish your setting and I replied before lunch time. he said "very good, then get ready to attend a meeting which is held at our client's office after lunch and since It is first official meeting between our team and client, all involved people are going to show up." I should have not say 'before lunch time.   I couldn't have a lunch well because of upcoming official meeting which is a first time of my life. Anyway I left for our client's office with my team members. We arrived at conference room and soon clients showed up with their laptops. We all seated in a circle and one of clients said "why don't we start this meeting with self-introduction in seating order? Let me start first, my name is …" I started to panic because based on seating order, I had to introduce myself after five clients and that means I would be the first in our team! At that time I couldn't memorize our team members' name. It was freaking frustrating and also embarrassing too.   "My name is Changyu Kang, and I will work for sportswear category supporting section chief, 000" I finished mine as briefly as possible and awkward moments passed. After all people finished, clients started to explain their brand, business plan, marketing strategy and schedule … They pumped out all kinds of stuffs and I couldn't understand a single word. Characters in presentation was all English and most of them were about professional marketing things. I felt dizzy and just wanted to go home.   After finishing presentation clients asked us to draw up some marketing strategy guidelines for upcoming spring season before weekend. Thanks to our generous clients I worked by night with my team at my very first day. But I didn't know yet it is a beginning of severe 7 months as intern.

Choi, Won-joon/Essay Assignment (p. 50)/Narrative Composition(2) Tuesday & 09:00~11:00

The Black TV Screen Syndrome

 

"Wake up! It's time to go to school! Are you alright with your stomach?"

"Mom, don't worry… I'm already awake…and maybe… I'm ok…"

Being absent minded, I went to the bathroom. In the mirror, there stood a boy with his bloodshot eyes and his face was melting down like a burning candle. For the first time, I nearly came to know how it feels to be an insomnia sufferer. The only thing I did wrong was that I wasn't honest for my emotion, which resulted in the white night all alone at my room.

August 2002, there was a typhoon called Rusa, the most powerful typhoon ever to strike South Korea. My friends and I were 11-year-old kids living in the city Samcheok and our parents were quite enthusiastic to help the flood victims. They went out for voluntary work almost every day and we used to stay together in one of our houses. One day, like the other days before, five kids were all together and I didn't know I would get into trouble this day.

After dinner, we were finding something to play with.

"I don't want to play computer games, video games and board games any more. I feel sick of them. Anybody knows something else to play with?"

Then one of my friends stood up and took his bag before us and said,

"I've got something to show you guys."

Then he took a video tape out of his bag and the title was written on it; The Ring. This was the exact point where the problem began, and it was so kind of him to prepare that Japanese horror movie for our horrible night.

Nothing enforced us to watch the movie. However, we did dig our own grave.

"Is it really that scary?" "I am not afraid of such a thing."

All of a sudden, we all became participants in a bravery competition. Looking into each other's eyes, no one was even trying to give up the weird competition. Maybe, we were pretending to be "manly" among each other and no one wanted to be a loser or a coward. As a result, we turned the light off and closed curtains. In the complete darkness, we clicked the start button.

I don't remember the story at all, but there's a scene that shocked me, which I cannot forget forever. One of the main characters turns a cursed video on. After a glimpse of buzzing TV screen, it shows a creepy well. Sadako, the Virgin Ghost with long hair covering all over her face, comes out of the well and slowly walks forward. It crawls out from the screen and makes the main character die from heart attack.

Watching the video, no one screamed or ran away. I still wonder what gave us that useless but powerful patience and self-control. The film ended and after a short silence, we said,

"Yes, I knew it won't be that scary." "I enjoyed it. It was really interesting."

Now that I think of it, we were perfect actors.

As parents came back home, we all went back to our own home. That night, I had stomachache. Of course, I was so nervous watching the video that my digestive system refused to work. Looking at me, mom said,

"What's wrong? Your face looks so pale."

"I just have stomachache. Maybe something went bad with my dinner."

I didn't tell even a word about the Ring. My manly bravery was still working hard inside me, so I didn't want to admit that I was totally frightened.

I took pills and tried to go to bed. Unfortunately, stomachache was not the only symptom I got. I didn't know I was that imaginative and creative until I turned the light off in my bedroom. It felt like Sadako would be watching me next to my face or below my feet. The problem was I didn't know how to react if I face with Sadako eyes to eyes. So, I was stiffly lying on my bed like a log. What is worse, when my eyes got accustomed to the darkness, I could see the silhouette of TV in the living room through the door of my room. "That black screen will be turned on with the buzzing sound and Sadako will come out of the well and then out of the TV, and then…" Darkness was amplifying my fear, so I turned the light on. Through the whole night, I worried, worried and worried endlessly. Aftereffect of the black TV screen syndrome remained for about 3 weeks.

Time heals all wounds? Yes, these days I sleep tight without any fear of nightmare; but no, I hate watching horror movies. For readers, try to be honest for yourself when it comes to the emotion and try not to endure every burden before you, or Sadako will bully you through the whole night for some day.

Moses Choi / Third Post / Tues 9-11 a.m.

Learning from crises

 

Do you have any experience that affected your whole life afterwards? I am only a university student, but I already have two. Every ten years, I had to confront personal crises, and those changed my whole life in different ways.

First event happened when I was 10 years old. It was another beautiful day of summer vacation. I went to the beach on the east coast, and that means a vast blue sea over a sand beach. After a short warming up, I rushed to the water and jumped right in. As I was playing, I noticed that there was a rope out on the sea indicating the limit which everyone should have stayed within. Just like everyone else, I was swimming inside the rope. Soon, however, it felt too crowded and shallow for me to play near the coast, and so I swam over to the outer rope. As I reached the rope, I grabbed it with one hand, and enjoyed deeper, less crowded sea. That moment, the first crisis happened.

Suddenly, a big wave hit me. I drowned, and lost hold of the rope. I struggled to get out of the surface. When I managed to do that, I realized that I was outside, even far from the rope. I panicked. I shouted and waved my hands, but no one seemed to notice me. That moment, I looked back. There was nothing but a horizon between the sky and the endless sea. What really terrified me was that among this vast water, there was nothing I can rely on. Luckily, not before long, another wave hit me, and pushed me back towards the beach. To my great relief, I could grab the rope again, and I immediately came out of the sea. That day, I did not even dare to go inside the water again. This experience certainly taught me the importance of safety, and until this day, I keep myself from dangerous situations.

10 years later, when I was 20, second event happened. From the time of my great grandparents, my family has been a Christian. From the day I was born, or even when I was being carried by my mother, I had never missed Sunday services. To look back, I was really faithful. When I was a little boy, I remember, I always waited for Sunday, to go to church. I tried to read the Bible and pray whenever I could, even on weekdays. However, when I was 20, the second crisis came.

I do not recall the exact reason, but suddenly I started to lose my faith. What was frustrating was that it was not something I wanted. At first, I desperately wanted to believe what I have believed for my entire life. However, I found myself continuously doubting what they say in church. I tried really hard to believe what I had believed. However, I could not do that, and it felt life being outside the rope again. This time, however, there was no second wave to push me back to the beach. I was really terrified, just like 10 years ago.

So I changed my mind. Instead of looking for another wave, I decided to overcome my fear. I read some books, consulted with some people I can talk to, and so on. As time went by, I came to realize, little by little, that it is okay to be outside of the rope. I even felt free to be outside of tiny, crowded place surrounded by the rope. This experience taught me a very valuable lesson that changed me forever. There are so many different ways to see the world, and more importantly, it is possible to understand and harmonize with those who have different points of view from mine.

Moses Choi 

Alyssa Yoo/Essay Assignment/Narrative Composition/Tues. 9-11 a.m.

Seattle. The coffee capital was covered in trees. It was a beautiful neighborhood with children giggling and running like little puppies. If I knew what kind of things were waiting for me at school, I wouldn't have been excited to go. However, as I knew nothing, I just couldn't wait to go to school and meet new friends.

Everyone stared. They were all looking at me like I came from a different planet. It would have been pleasant if those stares were warm, but unfortunately, they were nothing of the kind. I did not quite like the smell of the yellow school bus. Something about it made me feel uncomfortable. As I tried to find a seat, I could feel a lot of the kids still staring at me behind my back; some were even glaring. Feeling very awkward, I found an empty seat, but as soon as I tried to sit in it, the white girl sitting in the seat next to the empty one said, "This seat is taken. Go find another one." At first, I did believe her. It did not seem like she was lying. However, as we were coming close to school, I found out that she just did not want to sit next to the "new Asian girl."

Here I was, standing in front of the school building, thinking about my friends back home. What were they doing? Did they even miss me? I washed the thoughts out, struggling to look like someone who actually belonged to this country.

"Kids, this is Rebecca. Give her a warm welcome." Rebecca was a temporary name I used only for the first year in America. Luckily, everyone in my new class seemed nice. What I did not realize at the moment was that some of them were just pretending to be nice in front of the teacher.

"Hey, this is what we do when anyone wears new shoes, okay?" One of the white girls in my class made this statement as she stepped on my clean, white pair of shoes. It was recess, and no supervisors were around. I was all alone with no adult to help me. Although I felt very uncomfortable, I tried to believe them.

"There, we can be friends now." A little Indian girl said this with a mean smirk on her face. Since I was new, there was no one to hang out with, and I thought it would be okay to hang out with these girls who welcomed me with a little "ceremony" of theirs. Besides, it'd be better than being a loner. Although they did not make me feel so welcome, I thought I would be okay until someone hurt me both inside and out.

"Hey!" I looked around for the culprit, but he or she had already run away from the scene. Blood ran down my right leg, but I did not cry; I couldn't. I held tears in both of my eyes, but I just could not let them roll down my cheeks. It would be like telling the world that I couldn't survive in the new country I was destined to spend the rest of my life in. I wanted to be strong. Limping, I struggled as hard as I could to get to the door of our classroom. I leaned on the walls, thinking about what worse things were waiting for me.

The only things I could say in English were "no" and "yes." I could not speak in full sentences. Since it was recess, I waited for the teacher to come to the classroom. I used a lot of body language to first get her attention, then deliver whatever message I had to tell her. I pointed to my bleeding knee, and shaped a square with my fingers to let her know that I needed a band-aid. At first, she was confused, but she got my message and put a band-aid on my knee. Unfortunately, however, I couldn't tell her that someone had intentionally tripped me. I left it a secret until I left the school, but the memory is so vivid that I'll never forget the exact moment.

My mom told me later that she never saw anything paler than my face on the first day of school. I did not say anything about the little bad things that happened to me on that day because I knew it would make her upset.

First days of school are usually fun and exciting for most people. For me, the first day of school in a new country was the worst day of my life. I saw dirt, blood, and got glares from people I did not even know. Although it was a horrible day, it helped me become stronger and try harder to fit in, to become an American. Bad experiences don't always influence a person negatively. Rather, they can help you get ready for the storm. This first day of school was the first step of becoming a stronger person inside. It got me prepared for the struggles I'd face in life, and when I look back, I'm actually glad of all the bad things that happened in my first day of school in Seattle.

  

Kweonho Lee/Essay Assignment (p. 50)/Narrative Composition(2) Tuesday & 09:00~11:00

The Ghost Watcher Afterwards, I wasn't able to sleep a wink for several days due to the traumatic event that I had in the night. I wasn't the type of person who easily fell into believing in ghosts, but after watching all those crazy things, I had to admit that something did exist beyond what we could see with our own eyes. It was the most horrifying experience of my life which changed my view of the world. In the early spring of 2015, I was serving in military service. There were about 50 other members in the camp and we were having ordinary days with same routines and schedules until a new guy came in to join our squad. No one in the room was able to expect the terrible things that were about to happen. At first, he looked just the same with other guys. He was a bit small and had pale faces but seemed to get along well with others. Everyone liked him. After about a month, however, he started to act strangely. He looked tired every day and kept on dozing off in the daytime. Also, he became skinny and seemed to have lost his appetite. Some members who used the same room said that they had watched him murmuring something to himself and sometimes smiling for no reason. People started to keep away from him. He was soon sent to the army hospital to receive consultation. When he returned, he confessed that he had been suffering from horrible nightmares. He showed both his arms and a wave of nausea swept over us. The arms were full of festering wounds and scratches that he injured himself while he was asleep. He had been biting off his own arms. Then, he claimed that a few buildings in our camp were haunted and the ghosts were causing him such nightmares. I thought that he was just suffering from some kind of anxiety disorder and the stories about ghosts were just nonsense. One day, I became curious and went out with him to smoke a cigarette while everyone was asleep. He seemed to be very careful and timid so I told him to relax because I was with him. Also, I told him to let me know when he saw anything because I wanted to see for myself. As we were talking, he seemed to be relieved. Nothing happened for a few minutes. While listening to him I thought, 'I knew it. He was not seeing ghosts or anything. He was just playing on us.' Just then, he stopped talking all of a sudden. As soon as I noticed an abrupt change in his face, his hands moved really fast and put his cigarette out right away. I was scared at the moment just by looking at the sheer terror that was spreading through his face. He was stuttering while slowly pointing at my back with his trembling fingers. He seemed to be telling me that the thing was right behind my back. Frozen in fear, I felt a cold sweat in my back and did not dare to look back. We just ran back into the camp screaming. There was definitely nothing I could visually see, but I really felt the chill down on my spine at the moment. When we came back inside, he shivered violently and began to cry like a baby. Everyone woke up and they were soon shocked by seeing his reactions. His whole body was shaking as if he was having a convulsion and his eyes were all white just like the ones I had seen in the horror movies of exorcism. After a few minutes of trembling, he fainted. No one was able to say he was lying or just acting after seeing everything with their own eyes. I was covered in goosebumps. A few days later, he was discharged from the army. It was later found out that the buildings he claimed to have been haunted actually had horrifying histories. The commander of our corps explained that some of the buildings he pointed out were used as a place to cremate dead bodies during the Korean War and the other buildings had incidents of suicides about 10 years ago. What he said was true. Through this experience, my view of the world changed. I learned that what we see with our own eyes may not be everything. Superstitions or other beliefs should not be ignored for the reason that they lack scientific evidence. I came to believe that ghosts or any other spiritual beings exist. I still remember it clearly as if it happened yesterday and he was definitely seeing something supernatural that we wouldn't want to imagine. It was the most horrifying experience of my life.

Gitae Shin/Essay Assignment (p. 50)/Narrative Composition(2) Tuesday & 09:00~11:00

The moment when I could grow and be mature than before.

How much do you think a bottle of shampoo cost or one pack of toilet paper? I belive many Korean young people in their 20th live in the same house with their parents and therby they do not pay for daily necessaries. People have different backgrounds and those backgrounds vary from family to family and from person to person. Partly because of that, some people get into social life earlier than others and face harsh realities they probably have not experienced before. To me, it was in 2014 that I tasted little bit of bitterness of social life.

I was discharged from the military on 17th of July in 2013. I took a full year off and earned money to be completely independent from my parents, only by doing so, without any economic support, I thought that I could truly do whatever I wanted to do. I worked seven days a week as an assitant in Community Service Center of my town, a part-timer in coffee shop and a private English tutor. I pushed myself to the limit because I was obsessed with the idea of making and saving money at that time, which I never felt difficult and tiring. Indeed, I saved huge amount of money which ordinary people around my age cannot even imagine. How could I do that? Well, it is because my parents and their house were there. Bascially I did not have to pay for anything such as eating meals, sleeping in my room and so on. Therefore, I was able to maintain cost of my living as extremely low as possible, 50,000 won per month.
I had a specific plan to use that money for my future. However, in life, things changed regardless of my fantastic blue print. My sister decided, out of blue, to study abroad in U.S. and it would burden my family with huge costs amounting to almost about 200% of my father's annual salary. My family put our heads together and came to a conclusion. She crossed the Atlantic Ocean and arrived in Washington D.C. I was supposed to return to school and, a stroke of good luck in the midst of misfortune, I did not have to pay for the tuition thanks to the scholarship I had won before going to army. Although my parents said to me that they were able to give me a hand, I refused. I set a small portion of my savings aside and gave them the rest though they returned it to me after 13 months.
From that moment, my life was forcing me to get involved in real social life with full of harshness related to money. I had to find a job for a living. That was not a problem of preferences but of survivor. Thanks to my level of education, I was able to get two part-time jobs as private tutor and worked 4 hours per day for 4 days (2 days for weekdays and 2 days for weekend). 120,000 won was the money I made per week, but it was not stable and the pay fluctuated depending on the schedule. Have you ever felt the feeling that money is after you in every second? Also do you know how pathetic it is for you to watch yourself weighing the costs every time? I had not realized before that all the things around me were about money such as meeting friends, shampoo and conditioner, toothpaste and toothbrush, toilet paper and so on. I will not and cannot forget the very fear which shampoo bottle going empty brought, bitterness which made my ego shattered into pieces when I had to say 'No' to my friends whenever they called me to hang out. Furthermore, as my former department had been dismissed by school authority when I was away from campus and thereby I had to change my major, my daily routine was going to school, to work, to library, and to house. There were so many times that I was frustrated and wanted to give up everything. Nevertheless, I did not want to be overwhelmed by the situation itself. I know that it always comes and goes. 6 monts later one day my father called me and said "Son, I think now we can afford to support you again without concerns."
After passing through the six-month-long tunnel, I became firm, independent, humble, and confident. I finally found 'WHO I AM.' I do not regret voluntarilly choosing the hard way instead of easy one. Over the course of facing the real world, I achieved many things that I might have not obtained and that constitute me now. Just like old saying, "No pain, No gain!"

● NOTICE: Sentences in Bold are added and modified.

Do Hyun Lim/Second Post/Tues 9-11 A.M.

             I often saw people using cellphones with broken screens for a long time and thought "Wow, that must be very uncomfortable, it's great that my cellphone is still intact." It never crossed my mind that the same could happen to me one day.

             A day before the tragic event, I was very excited because it was the day of my trip to Incheon with three of my friends. We gathered at Hwegi station and headed to our destination. Time was valuable since it is only a two day trip, and we filled our stomachs with kimbab and sandwiches along the way. After having lots of fun at Walmido and Boo-pyung, we went to a Jjim-jil-bang to get some sleep. As with most Jjim-jil-bangs, it had a hard, marble floor and looked shiny and fancy.

             Despite the boiling weather outside that was identical to the sauna next door, they did not turn on the air conditioning. Only three fans were available and the spot was already taken by several lucky people. I had no choice but to sleep somewhere else, which I failed because I woke up many times. After two or so hours of the repetition of waking and sleeping, a spot was finally available near the fan! Excited, I took my pillow and almost ran to the spot, without realizing that my cellphone was half-out of my pocket. My mind was definitely someplace else until I heard a noise, "Wajangchang." The cellphone's screen was into pieces and unlike the usable phones I saw that belonged to other people, my touchscreen did not work at all.

             The first involuntary no-cellphone day was indeed uncomfortable. I could not receive nor make any calls and kakaotalks. It was, however, the second travel day so I managed it with lots of fun. The next day was Monday so I went to the repair shop right away after school. They charged me 70,000 won for changing the screen and unexpectedly asked me, "Which color do you want?" I was about to say "white," which was the original color but changed my mind to gold because I thought it would be interesting. Now, I have a phone with a gold front and white back. Who has a phone like this?

Yousun Jung/Second Post/Tues 9-11am

It was when I worked as a NGO worker in India. I lived with children from discriminated tribes and I also worked for people living with HIV/AIDS. I was in charge of administrative documents, mainly to connect children with sponsors in Korea. But as I visited them regularly, I had to take care of myself well. For example, there was at least one band-aid in my bag

There were always plenty works to do and it can sometimes make you exhausted and sick. One day, I felt fever at night, so I took medicine before going to bed. The next morning what I saw in the mirror was closer to zombie or Frankenstein rather than human being. I looked very bad, and indeed I couldn't even get out of my room. I canceled all the schedule and just took a rest. I knew that I was overstraining, so I didn't take it seriously. I just thought it would be okay soon.

But it wasn't. I couldn't even drink juice or water. I suffered from diarrhea, vomiting, high fever and shivering all day long. Everyone in the same house got nervous. They were so worried about me, and it was not the only reason.

At that time, pig influenza was widespread in the city. At least two or three people died in a day, and that was what we read every day in the newspaper. Furthermore, a day before I got sick, I had visited one of the HIV-positive family, and there was a woman who had had same symptoms with mine. I started to get nervous, and I felt that others felt the same way. I googled 'symptoms of pig influenza' and it didn't help me out. One of my co-worker may have done same thing and she asked me: "Didi(sister in Indian word), do you cough?" That was the only positive thing I could fine. I didn't cough.

When I finished vomiting, I thought I would not get better by myself. I really didn't want to go out as I felt like vomiting all the time, but I had to go to see a doctor. I went to the hospital, and it was only five minutes distance by autorickshaw. In the rickshaw, I started to think about my situation. I may be infected with pig influenza or something else. I may be a host of disease or virus. I may be die. I may not go back to Korea again. I imagined all possible negative scenarios, and it was all fine including getting HIV-positive. It would be so miserable and terrible, but it was me who had chosen life in India as NGO worker. I thought I could somehow get on my life. But if I die here, then how would my parents feel? It was me who had chosen, not them. I felt deeply sorry for them. I felt like crying. Even in hospital, I felt very uncomfortable. If I had been a host of disease, I am causing harm to other people. I felt guilty just because of being there.

When I saw a doctor, he asked me some simple question with bored face. He briefly wrote prescription and I carefully asked him: "Is this any possibility of pig influenza?" He didn't even look at me and answered. "No." I sighed in relief.

I cried a lot that night because I felt like I experienced 'A day of HIV-positive people'. They felt anxiety. They were feeble. They felt guilty. That's what I felt throughout the day. But there were big differences between me and them. I was not alone. I could take a rest all day. I had co-workers who lived with me and took care of me with love. I had no worry about medical expenses. They are mother or father who had to make a living and keep working, having worried about financial situation from living expenses to medical expenses.

I realized how strong they were. Some of them really wanted to die, but that was only for some occasions which need counseling. Mostly they struggled their lives every day and they never gave up. They said it's because of their family, children, and love. It was love that kept them strong.

As a NGO worker, what I did was not to spoil poor people by pouring food and money. What I did was to stand together when they struggle to make it, to listen to them how they felt or how they are, and to sympathize with them. It was precious moment of my life that I could deeply sympathize with them. That night, I realized that EVERY MAN—not only them—are fatal. I know it sounds very natural, but it is different that you know something natural and you feel it by experience.

Yousun Jung

 

Yukyung Bang/Chapter 2/Narrative Composition Tuesday 9-11 a.m.

201301511 Yukyung Bang

 

I sometimes hear my friends from high school saying "I wish I could go back to the school days." I get it. They miss the times spent with their friends and teachers in the classroom. Even though how hard it was to prepare for the university entrance exam, painful memories are subject to fade away with time. However, there is one memory that does not grow dim even after four years.

 

It was 8:30 in the morning when all other students had already arrived at school. As we were third year students, we used to do English listening test before the first class starts. I was sitting down with my textbook opened when the TV was turned on. The school's vice principal appeared on the screen, looking angry. He said in a firm voice, "This is not acceptable in our school." He turned on a video, and all my classmates stared at me. In the video, I was walking down the street with my boyfriend holding hands.

 

Later, I could get an explanation from my homeroom teacher. My school was a coed school and dating between students were strictly banned as studying should be the top priority. Boys and girls couldn't talk at the corridor and even send text messages to each other. Obviously, I thought this rule was a garbage and didn't follow it. One Saturday after school, I met my boyfriend to walk home together. Unfortunately, the vice principal, Mr. Dolores Umbridge, saw us and started recording us with the black box in his car to broadcast so that the entire school could see it. It was an exemplary punishment given to us.

 

My homeroom teacher said she was disappointed because she thought I was a "good student" and warned me to break up with him immediately. She also said that I could no more stay at school for self-study after school. One month of cleaning work was given to me as a punishment. I ignored them all. Instead, I went to see the vice principal. It was already after he read through all the text messages exchanged between us from the phone he had taken from my boyfriend. I told him that what he had done was a crime and should not be acceptable. He seemed a lot surprised to see a student rebelling against him.

 

With help from my parents who believed and supported their daughter, I could eventually receive an apology from him. Even though things ended well, I had to spend the rest of my school days very uncomfortably. However, I learned from this experience that even though almost everyone but myself thought I was wrong, having the ability to giving a clear opinion is an important way to live a life.

Hyeonju Oh/Second post/Tues 9-11 a.m

Are you sure that you enjoyed your life? Sometime, people think that sacrificing their present for the future is right choice. So they miss some beautiful scenes or moments of their own life. Well, I did also. But I changed my way to see the life by the chance. This is my story which describes the awful misunderstanding and the death.

 
When I was a freshman, I was really enjoying my first vacation. I put all the vacation plans off what I made for studying. The day that makes my life changed was started just like the other days.After I saw a movie in my bed, I just stretched my arms and suddenly I felt that there is something inside my armpit. In specific, there was a little ball around the right breast. Touching the armpit with quivering fingers, I tried to remain calm under pressure, but I couldn't stop thinking like tragic heroin in drama series. 'What is it? Why I didn't know until right now?' Finally, I assured that I have a tumor.

At that time, I just lie down in the dark room and fell into despair rather than go to hospitals. Lack of medical knowledges made me think that all tumors would definitely be cancer. In addition, the size of ball was like a coin and this fact was enough to regard myself as terminal cancer patient. I didn't want to go to hospitals because I felt fear that a doctor formulates that I have breast cancer. The time was really painful. 'How can I tell this to parents?, Will I die? Is the death suffering?' I kept asking myself with laying blame for the god. The most important thing was that i've done nothing special in my life for myself.

Since then, I made a list for myself. From activities that I've never done before, the list was full of skepticism. But I noticed that I can't do these things, because of money. So I decided to live fully in daily life. This decision made amazing change. The noise of cicadas which always disturbed in my sleep, came like a sunshine in the middle of the forest. And when I met a friend, I could see her beautiful eyes, her shimmering eyelashes, and her wrinkles when she smiles. I heard every word that she makes and it made me happy. I felt that I live my life fully. 24 hours are long enough to erase skepticism for my life. The summer that I really hate was wonderful like the winter that I love.

After 4 days, I went to the hospital. The doctor investigated my armpit with serious face expression. Because he didn't say any words, so I told him first. "Do I have breast cancer?" then he saw me. "What? The breast cancer?" then he laughed. "It is sure that everyone can be cancer patient… but not that easy. You are not a cancer patient." "But, why the ball is in my armpit?" "If you get tired for a long time, your lymph glands get swollen." Yes, It was totally misunderstanding. After I get the result of specific investigation, the fact that I'm not a cancer patient was being apparent.

Although I'm not a patient, because of the memory of the day, I always try to live like someone who waits the death. I don't want to regret my life. That misunderstanding makes me indulge daily life, and thanks for that, I can adore everything I faced. Every day I feel happiness and I wish other peoples too. I think the death makes the life precious.

 

Hyeonju Oh

Choi, Won-joon/Question number 5 (p. 50)/Narrative Composition(2) Tuesday 9-11 a.m.

The Black TV Screen Syndrome

 

Two hours that night in my friend's house were just enough to make me suffer from insomnia, which ruined my daily routine for several weeks.

October 2002, there was a typhoon called Rusa, the most powerful typhoon ever to strike South Korea. My friends and I were 11-year-old kids living in the city Samcheok and our parents were quite enthusiastic to help the flood victims. When they were out for the voluntary work, we used to stay together in one of our houses. One day, like the other days before, five kids were all together at night and I didn't know I would get into trouble this day.

One of my friends said, "What are we going to do today?" Another replied, "I've got something to show you guys." Then he took a video tape out of his bag and the title was written on it; The Ring. This was the exact point where the problem began, and it was so kind of him to prepare that Japanese horror movie for our horrible night.

I have no idea why we had to watch that movie. But I remember our bluffing not to be a loser or a coward. "Is it really that scary? I am not afraid of such a thing." Maybe, we were pretending to be "manly" among each other. As a result, we turned the light off and started the video.

I don't remember the story at all, but there's a scene that I cannot forget forever. One of the main characters turns a cursed video on. After a glimpse of buzzing TV screen, it shows a creepy well. Sadako, the Virgin Ghost with long hair covering all over her face, comes out of the well and slowly walks forward. It crawls out of the screen and makes the main character die.

That night, when I came back home, I had stomachache. Of course, I was so nervous watching the video that my digestive system refused to work. I told my mom, took pills and tried to go to bed. Unfortunately, stomachache was not the only symptom. After turning the light off in my bedroom, very naturally, I came up with Sadako. What is worse, when my eyes got accustomed to the darkness, I could see the silhouette of TV in the living room while I was lying on my bed. "That black screen will be turned on with the buzzing sound and Sadako will come out of the well and then…," through the whole night, I worried, worried and worried endlessly. Aftereffect of the black TV screen syndrome remained for about 3 weeks.

Time heals all wounds? Yes, these days I sleep tight without any fear of nightmare; but no, I hate watching horror movies.

Moses Choi / Second Post / Tues 9-11 a.m.

Experiences that made me terrified to death

 

This story is about two experiences that happened to me, one at age 10 and another at age 20. Though these experiences are unrelated, they both made me terrified to death.

           First event happened when I was 10 years old. I went to a beach during summer vacation. I do not remember exactly, but it was somewhere on the east coast. Out on the sea, there was a rope indicating the limit, and everyone should stay within that limit. Just like everyone else, I was swimming and playing inside the rope. Soon, however, it felt too crowded and shallow for me to play near the coast, and so I swam over to the outer rope. As I got to the rope, I grabbed it with one hand, and enjoyed deeper, less crowded sea.

           It was then when a big wave hit me. Suddenly I drowned, and lost hold of the rope. I struggled to get out of the surface, and when I managed to do that, I realized that I was outside, even far from the rope. I panicked. I shouted and waved my hands, but no one seemed to notice me. That moment, I looked back. There was nothing but a horizon. I was really terrified because I felt like there is nothing that I can rely on. Luckily, not before long, another wave hit me, and pushed me back towards the beach. That day, I did not even dare to go inside the water again. That is the first experience that terrified me to death.

           10 years later, second event happened. I was born and raised in a Christian family, and I had never missed Sunday service since then. To look back, I was really faithful. It was then when the second wave hit me. I do not recall the exact reason, but suddenly I started to lose my faith. What was frustrating was that it was not something I wanted. Of course I prayed, and I tried really hard to believe what I had believed. However, I could not do that, and I started to feel what I felt 10 years ago. For me, it was like the whole world I had lived so far was crumbling down, and there was nothing to protect me. I, again, was terrified to death.

           That time I tried very hard to find the wave to push me back. I read some books, consulted some people I could trust. That helped me, but differently from the first event. As I do all those things, I came to realize, little by little, that it is okay to be outside of the rope. I even felt free, as time goes by, from that crowded tiny place surrounded by the rope. Now I am still outside of the rope, but I am fine with it. That is the second experience that terrified me to death.

Moses Choi 

Hyun Jee Kim/Page 50/Narratve Composition(2) Tue 9-11

The Unforgettable Moment of My Life

 

"I don't want this to end." Hugging my friends and crying, I kept repeating these words during my last week of high school and till my graduation day. At the time, I was 18 years old, a senior in high school. But unlike my friends who were already accepted and leaving the country for college, I didn't know what I was going to do. I had declined offers from American universities and instead was waiting for a reply from Japan.

 

At the beginning of the graduation ceremony, I was okay. I was fine and even excited that I was finally graduating high school. But as the class valedictorian finished her speech and we threw our graduation hats, my emotions broke. I couldn't stop crying.

 

Realizing that I just graduated high school and thinking about my future, I couldn't hold back my tears. Some were happy tears but most were as a result of my fear. I was scared that I wouldn't get into a university and that even if I got in, I wouldn't fit in.

 

I had thought that after all these years, I was brave and confident enough to meet people. Within 12 years of primary education, I had moved schools nine times in three different countries. It had felt like a yearly routine for me to move schools and meet new people. But after thinking about leaving a place where I spent most of my childhood years, I was scared.

 

When it was time to take pictures, my family walked towards me. They were quite surprised to see me crying. I could tell that my mother was holding back her tears. She came up to me and said the words that I still remember until today. "You can do it. You've done this before. I can't wait for what's to come next for your life."

 

Right away, I stopped crying and hugged my family. I think that was when it clicked; I shouldn't be scared, but should be grateful and happy. Looking at my dad who had been living alone for all those years and my mother who had been single-handily raising me, I knew that I should be grateful for the opportunities that I had been given and excited for what was to come next. I kept her words near my heart.

 

My mother was right. In that week, I received my acceptance letter from Japan and later that year I started my college life there. My experience in Japan turned out to be one of the most unforgettable and best times of my life. I had had faith in myself that I could do well in college and be excited for the future.

                                                                                             Hyun Jee Kim