PERSONAL NARRATIVE
Competitor. Communicator. Creator.
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SPORTS TIME WITH MY FATHER
As the oldest of two daughters, I spent whatever free time my father had playing soccer, golf, and swimming with him from the age of 6. Just as my mother did with instruments, our father taught us how to play soccer, swim, and play golf. This was another way to get closer to my father because he was often away for work and didn't have much time to spend with us. Through these activities, we bonded, had fun, and, of course, improved in sports that we are passionate about. I remember playing soccer in Hangang Park (as shown in the picture below) and using trees as our goalposts. While this may seem like just a fun, friendly game, my father used this game to help us improve our accuracy and ball handling. But more than that, it was an excuse for our whole family to bond and have fun together, whether it was having picnics and playing soccer, riding bikes and playing soccer, and more.
MUSIC TIME WITH MY MOM
FINDING MY VOICE AS A SPEECH/DEBATE COMPETITOR
Having started as a debater in the sixth grade, I enjoyed thinking about issues from different perspectives, finding flaws in other people's arguments, and thinking of ways to strengthen my own. At a debate tournament in the ninth grade, my coach suggested that I try the speech category. Because it was something new, I was not feeling very confident and was actually quite scared because the prompts were incredibly open-ended. To my surprise, the open-endedness of the prompts made competing in speech categories challenging yet enjoyable.
Debate has been one of the few things that have remained constant as I moved to Korea and entered high school at Seoul Foreign School. Even though I now focus more on public speaking, I thoroughly enjoy debate, and it has inspired me to be a two-year member of the Crusader Debate Club at school, where I hold the secretary position. Debate has always been a way for me to blow off some steam while rekindling my love for reading. Now, as a devoted public speaker, the skills that I have learned from debate—rhetoric, logic, and impromptu speaking—have led me to a successful career as a national speaker, a TA for both debate and public speaking at school for middle schoolers, and winning multiple awards in many different tournaments.
But most importantly, public speaking has grown my confidence as a 16-year-old high schooler who used to be scared of judgment and embarrassing herself in front of others. In a society where being the "odd one out" is seen as weird and unacceptable, public speaking has made me more confident in my beliefs, opinions, and sense of self.
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In the summer after 8th grade, I created a TikTok account as a video diary to post volleyball clips, pictures of sunsets, and dancing videos with my friends. As the years went by, my TikTok account grew, gathering over 200k followers in the span of two years. I now post the outfits I wear to school and fashion inspiration, in addition to other pictures and video clips.
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I enjoy posting TikTok videos, not just because I am part of Generation Z but because I have learned a myriad of skills that I cannot learn otherwise. For example, I learned about marketing by trying to understand what my audience wants and is interested in. I learned how to properly negotiate brand deals and work with agencies, as well as monetization, editing, and more. While it started off as something small, it has become a space where I can express who I am outside of being just a student-athlete.
CONTENT CREATOR
From my mother, I learned to play the piano from an early age. When I started ballet, we went to ballet practice and concerts together—me as one of the performing ballerinas and her as our concert piano accompanist. Due to this, our house was always filled with music. Learning different instruments has been a way for me to connect with my mom because, instead of hiring a teacher, I would always learn from her. For example, when band was mandatory in elementary school, I chose to play the flute. Instead of hiring a flute teacher, my mom stuck with me for hours on end. Up until the 6th grade, she was my unofficial flute teacher, and even though I have an official flute teacher now, it's always entertaining and something I look forward to when I ask my mother for help and learn from her.
Describe your image
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Describe your image