a-ukyoung

My High School Years

My distinct high school years are marked by my __admission__ to Seoul Global High School. Staying in the dorm and being around the students who were as eager as I am to learn and to change the world brought my nerdiness to a whole new level. As much as I enjoyed the newfound freedom from my parents and goofed around with my friends by sneaking snacks into dorm rooms and pranking each other, debating equal rights, abuse of children as soldiers, frustrating Korean politics, and abuse of illegal immigrant workers with class mates sparked my interest in becoming international lawyer. Joining the Mock Trial team was an excellent opportunity to brush up on my half-forgotten English and learn the court process and relevant laws. We spent hours reading the case file and witness affidavits, pulling all-nighters before the competition. It took great effort to work up the courage to stand up and shout “Objection, your honor!” when the opposing side went against the rules, but as I got used to it, arguing with the other side’s prosecuting attorney or defense __lawyer__ came to be my favorite moment in Mock Trial, along with seeing my friends’ splendid verbal sparring. Placing 4th in the Nationals, we participated in the Asian/Pacific International Mock Trial Competition in Guam. I would never forget the moment I stepped into the federal supreme court of Guam as a lawyer/prosecuting attorney with case files and questions in my sweaty hands. After epic battle of words and placing 2nd, we toured around the Guam as normal teenagers and went scuba diving to celebrate our victory. While Mock Trial helped me develop intellectually, Korean Traditional Percussion Team, 사물놀이, kindled my passion for Korean Tradition and music. Our team bonded over midnight practices at the gym and mutual enthusiasm for the deafening roar of the beat which only 사물놀이 possessed. Performing on stage with my friends also helped me overcome the deathly stage fright that I suffered for a long time. As a leader of the team I was in charge of signaling the change of the beat, and seeing my friends beam back at me with trust and joy, the once uneasy attention of the audience felt glorious. From then on, being on stage has been associated with triumphant success and comforting presence of friends around me. Even though I attended Seoul Global High School for only one year, there are so many fond memories for me to recount. The excessive workload was enough to drive us mad and ensuing pictures are the evidence of the madness. My roommate and I would draw periodic tables and enzyme catalyst reaction graph on our shelves to impersonate John Nash during the exam weeks, my classmates and I would furtively pass around sticky notes under the surveillance of proctors in the study room, taking pictures of ridiculous poses, and other crazy things that I can’t even start to describe. Then at the end of my first year in high school, my dad was offered to study at Duke University, and he asked if I wanted to accompany him. I didn’t want to leave behind my friends and despite spending two years of my childhood in the u.s. it was still a foreign country. However I was already exasperated with the stringent curriculum and zealously competitive ambience of Korean __education__ system. I was aware it was a risky move to transfer in middle of high school years, but I wanted leave the restrictive Korean society and challenge myself. So. My family and I packed up and arrived at RDU in 2010. Skipping my awkward adjustment period of 2nd semester of sophomore year, APES class awakened my inner science nerd whose existence I never acknowledged before. Half drowning in the wetlands, camping out in front of APES classroom at 5:30 in the morning to sign up for Tiger Rescue with Shirley and Caitlyn, and meeting invaluable friends make me infinitely glad that I chose to take APES. Summer after junior year I participated in Summer Ventures at ECU. Summer Ventures, known as gathering of nerds, introduced me to the world of genetic engineering and the art of gel electrophoresis. But the most prominent contribution of Summer Ventures was the marvelous people I met there. During dinners, I was surrounded by and immersed myself in the conversations of latest robot technology, video games, random facts about obscure animals, never-ending scientific “Did-you-know” game, intense Harry Potter discussion, and how to sneak chocolate cookies to the dorms. Of course, my inherent prankster wanted to scare my friends with the assistance of Maddie who had exceptionally long, scary hair. The friendship I shared with these amazing people still continues, and we occasionally send links of our latest interest to one another. Thankfully, my best friend at Summer Ventures goes to NCSSM, so next year I would be knocking on her dorm room every once in a while. This summer was also the time I discovered a ring-neck dove nest outside my window. Fueled by my discovery of inner naturalist, I applied to the position of Junior Curator at the museum of natural science in Raleigh. Only in Junior Curator can one talk about one’s own experience in climbing up the tree to see a certain frog and get understanding nods and call one another Junior Paparazzi for our obsession with taking fancy pictures of nature. Even though the work turned out to be quite the opposite of what I expected, which made me refer to my work as Junior Janitor, I loved the opportunities Junior Curator program provided. I now know how to handle snakes, although they didn’t teach me Parseltongue, turtles, and ordinary domestic animals. Seeing variety of organisms inspired me to combine characteristics found in animals with science technology, which is my current vague goal for a career. As a Junior Curator I volunteered in various museum festivals, visited NC Zoo and learned how to shoot airgun darts like a boss, tried rather interesting food containing insects, dissected birds, and declared my undying love for flying squirrel named Chub-Chub and chinchillas. Everyone should visit newly opened Nature Research Center, which is the place that come closest to my vision of science paradise. I owe all of this happiness to the two people who contributed their genes to create me. My parents. With only three people in the family, there rarely is a picture featuring all three of us. So rare, that I couldn’t find one for this project. Never the typical Asian parents who urge their children to study hard or the epitome of restrictiveness, my parents taught me to have an open-mind, a liberal soul, and a kind heart. It is for their unconditional devotion and support that I have become the person who I am. In addition to my parents, I thank all the people I have gotten to known for making my time at Green Hope unforgettable and putting up with my pranks, such as putting birthday present in Jello. Vaishali has upgraded my quirkiness in ways of making memes of Lady Macbeth, discussing social issues, linking fascinating youtube videos, and saying words of wisdom which I keep track in Oza quote book. I have befriended so many other amazing people whose presence made the monotonous school days more colorful and brighter. I still look around me, seeing all of you, and cannot believe how I lucky I am to have the opportunity to know and share my high school years with you all. Later when I have the chance to paint the people who I have known throughout my lifetime, each and every one of you would be painted with the brightest, the warmest color. Like the ring-necked dove fledglings with tiny beaks and beady eyes I’ve watched maturing into magnificent birds, I have grown up, even though I still retain my mischievous, immature side. Now with the wings of confidence, I am ready to fly. I’m attending Duke next year, as a result of ignoring my gut and listening to my brain. Vaishali will be there to metaphorically whip me into the right path, and I her. Thank you for watching and listening

animoto: []