Yukyung Bang/Eighth post/Narrative Composition Tuesday 09:00~11:00

201301511 Yukyung Bang

People think they would know everything about their family. It's a huge mistake. I had also believed that I knew every bit of my younger sister, and those 16 years of living together before I left my hometown would not be a waste. So, when I decided to interview her, I did not know what to ask. While rummaging for my own memories about her to find the interview topic, I suddenly realized that I should focus on those years for which we have not been living together.

 

I left my hometown to live in Seoul when she was 17(She is now 20), the year she entered high school to endure those painful years to figure out her own identity and future. She said sitting next to me on my bed, "When you left, it was like I was being left alone even though you were the one who had to live by yourself." Being lost in thought, she stared into the air for a while. She finally opened her mouth and said, "It was the year when a lot of things changed. Suddenly, our home turned into an empty net after the baby birds whose wings got strong enough to fly left because you and Yuna(our oldest sister) were gone altogether. I remember sleeping alone in my room for the first time. That night, I had a nightmare."

 

However, she had no time for sorrow. She entered high school even before she got over the shock of being alone. She pointed out that looking back, it was better for her because she spent a lot of time with her friends at school and less time at home. As time passed, she got used to her new life and environment slowly. It seemed as everything was going well without a hitch. But a new problem arose. In her third year in high school, my mom and she had arguments continuously over the field in which she wanted to work: film.

 

"It was like talking to the wall. She wouldn't listen to me, and insisted that I should study. She treated me as if I was you or Yuna. There was no one who would listen to me at home. Because I was so tired of having quarrels with mom, I just shut my mouth and mom and I drifted farther apart. I regret that now but I was too young to understand her. But in retrospect, I think that was when I grew independent and mature, thinking about the future and making my own decisions."

 

Listening to her, I remembered that she called me much more last year than usual. She used to complain about how not understanding and inconsiderate mom was. I felt sorry that I just considered it as mere grumbling and did not care about it much. It was me who was being inconsiderate. She did not seem to recognize how I felt as I pretended to be busy writing down what she was saying. Concealing my feeling, I asked her what she did to change her mind.

 

"I joined a school broadcasting club. There I met a few friends who also had interest in film and writing scenarios. We met on almost every weekend to discuss ideas, write a scenario, shoot a movie, and edit it. It was such a low-quality movie but we submitted it to a local film contest for middle and high school students. We placed second. I showed the result to my mom, and she finally told me that I could study film. I was more than happy. After that, he supported me fully and even allowed me to get private lessons. Without her, I wouldn't have been able to enter my school."

 

Now, she's a freshman at an art college and studying film as she wished. I asked her what it is like to study film in college. She answered with a big smile that it is fantastic. A filmic world is somewhat different from the real world, where she can create from the characters to the background to the plot to the ending. "I feel free," she said. Even though she has to come all the way up to Seoul once a week because of field classes, she does not feel tired at all. She's passionate, enthusiastic, and definitely happy.

 

"Of course, it was a lot more difficult than what I had expected at first. Unlike when I was in high school, everyone else seemed to be better than me. There were students who had already worked in the field. But this time I knew that I had to go through all by myself because I became an adult and knew that no one, you, Yuna, mom and dad, were not always there to help me. What I learned was at the beginning of something, the fear and frustration is only temporary."

 

She's an adult. That was the thought that had never occurred to me. Because to me, she was always my younger sister so fragile and so naive. But, not anymore. She has grown up and become so independent and strong to stand on her own. I felt happy but somewhat sad at the same time that my baby sister is not a baby anymore.

 

"So, this is the last question. What do you want to do in the future?"

 

"I want to be a producer, or a writer, or a director. Oh, I cannot decide right now. I'm trying as many things as possible for now. Maybe I will figure out next year. Until then, I'm going to enjoy my freshman year. You know what? My friends and I am planning to go to Taiwan next month. It's going to be so much fun. Oh, speaking of which, can you help me with some reservations? You know I'm not good at English. Please? I already told my friends that you would help us..."

 

I smiled and said yes. She is still my baby sister.