1. physics
It is hard to explain why I like physics. Actually, the reason why I started get interested in physics is very simple: it seemed like something between math and science. Since I was both interested in math and science, I applied for physics class in 청주교대영재원(science and math program for gifted in Cheongju educational university). As I study more, I found out that physics actually explains the world around us in a very different perspective from other scientific fields. Now I can only say that I like physics because I cannot find as much fun studying other fields. There are other interesting subjects but they do not motivate me as much as physics does.
2. Cheongju
I'm the only 16th waver from Cheongju in Chungbook province. I was the first student in Geumcheon middle school who entered KMLA. Most of my peers went to a nearby high school, which is only one block away. Sometimes I feel sad when my old friends see me as a peculiar model-student, not a normal "friend". Actually, when we talk to each other in face, they find out that I have hardly changed, after the graduation. Because of me, my Hoobaes started to get interested in KMLA, and I'm looking forward to having more Jicksoks.
3. Family - parents who are dentists
My parents are both dentists, so I have seen many different dentists in my life. Many think that dentists are just people who look inside others' mouths all day long and earn decent amount of money. However, there are so many different dentists even in small city Cheongju. For instance, my father works as an editor of dentist magazine, and many dentists write articles about their hobbies, such as traveling, baduk, photography, etc. The coolest dentist I know is a Sunbae of my mother, who became a dentist in order to support his career as a poet. He worked as a dentist for five years and quit the job to concentrate on his writing. Now he became quite a famous poet for children.
4. Family - left wing and right wing
Although I spent most of my life in Cheongju, I was actually born in Seoul. When I was born, my parents were working in Seoul after the residency. Since they could not shift the work place right away, I was sent to my grandparents' house and lived there for a year. Even later on, I spent a lot of time in grandparents' house. My grandfather is comparatively liberal in his age, yet he is strictly right-wing. He is a great fan of President Park: he said he wish she become a president since long, long time ago, whenever we watched news together. I was taught that Park Jung Hee is the greatest president in Korean history. However, as I grew up, I became more influenced by my father, who is rather left-wing. He is a member of Nosamo(people who love President Noh). I even went to a candle demonstration against Mr. Noh's Impearchment with my family when I was 9. Right now, I am not either right or left. The most important value to the politicians is, I believe, to keep the rules, yet there are too many corrupted politicians in both sides. I think it is very dangerous to define oneself as a particular side, since it prevents one from being objective and fair.
5. Family - younger brother
I have a younger brother, three years younger than me. He looks very different from me: he is very tall, chubby and has dark skin. He was always good at making things; he helped me a little with my setting for physics experiment. He wants to major in robotics. He is almost an expert of soccer. When I go home, he talks about European cups all day long: I usually listen. Most girls with younger brothers become less close to their brothers as they enter high school, yet I think we find more and more common interest as we grow up.
6. Family - uncle who is engineer
My uncle, Mother's younger brother, is the only one who lives abroad among my relatives. He majored in mechanical engineering in Korea and went to University of Michigan for graduate school. He has changed his work place over and over in order to challenge himself. He now works in a company in silicon valley.Thanks to his bold adventure in a new world, my parents became open to studying abroad. Also, as he is the only researcher among my relatives, he sometimes gives me useful advice.
7. Terse words..
I don't use much rhetoric or emoticons, simply because I feel very uncomfortable with those expressions. I feel like fooling myself and others when doing so. I think those fancy words are meaningless in a true friendship.
8. Stir-fried sea weed
My favorite side-dish is stir-fried sea weed. Since I was brought up by my grandparents, I often followed my grandmother and had meal with her friends, when I was in kindergarten. They usually went to Korean restaurant and stir-fried sea weed was always on the table, as a side-dish. I remember I only ate that side-dish, since I didn't like other vegetables. Since then, it became my favorite side-dish.
9. Otter
I was nicknamed otter by Haryoung. She and my friends say that I look like an otter. Sadly I can't swim, even though I look like an otter. Even before I entered KMLA, many people said that I look like some kind of animal.
10. Compromising
I hate fighting, not because I am angelic, but because I don't want to waste time and energy and end up being hurt. In KMLA, In order to live peacefully in KMLA, I had to learn how to compromise with others since everyone here wants to be special. Luckily, I haven't fought with anyone in KMLA.
11. Dogs
I liked animals, especially cute pets, since I was very young. I nagged my mother to buy a puppy all the time. So we bought a puppy Maltese when I was eight, and named her Sasha, which was my English name. We bought another puppy when I was in middle school. Although I cannot meet them often after I entered KMLA, Sasha always warmly welcomes me: the younger one, Hanuel, seems to treat me as a visitor.
12. Animal right movement
Experience of raising dogs naturally led me to get interested in animal rights. Only when I entered high school, I turned that mild interest into action. I became a member of CARE, one of the biggest animal protection groups in Korea, and participated in many activities, from volunteer works to lectures. Then I found out some hidden problems about animal rights in Korea. I found out that I partly contributed to pet industry, in which plenty of dogs suffer from violence, malnutrition and filthiness, by buying pets. I feel very sorry that a naive affection to living creature can be distorted by such lack of information and education.
13. Messy desk
My desk is usually messy, full notes and paper. Whenever I have to remember something or I have a short-term plan, I write it down on an a4 sheet or post-it note. It is very difficult for me to use a diary, like other students, because of my big handwriting. Also, it is hard to make a note any time I want if I use only one diary. When I have to make a long-term schedule, I use my school calender, which is also covered with post-it notes.
14. No religion
I don't have religion, but I'm not an atheist. I don't want to bind myself to a certain religion, because every religion is just a theory that cannot be proven. However, I believe that a religion enables people to be conscientious. I have once attended mass and the preach gave me a strong feeling that any kind of god a physical analogy of one's conscience. By the way, I refused to have bread at the end of the preach, because I wanted to be free from Christianity.
15. Spanish
Spanish class is my favorite humanity class. I like the impassioned atmosphere of the class, endless questions and discussions. It consistently amaze me that how much lessons we can learn from a simple example or a short explanation. This active learning motivated me to investigate deeper and deeper. Although I encountered Spanish language for the first time in KMLA, I can now read books or articles, with some help of dictionary. I hope I can continue to learn Spanish and have a chance to utilize it when I go to college.
16. History
I used to hate history very much before I entered this school, mainly because I didn't like my history teachers. They wanted us to memorize facts and figures, which seemed meaningless to me. My scores were not so bad, since I memorized the whole text book to prepare for mid terms and finals. However, I barely remembered anything from the text book when I graduated, since I did not understand historical contexts. When I was freshman in KMLA, I did not want to take history again. However I chose to take AP World History since last semester, because I liked history teachers in KMLA. I don't think it is rational to choose subjects because of teachers, but it is true that teachers are very influential to students' academic interests. Anyway, I, barely remembering any historical facts, went into a class full of humanity students. The course is indeed difficult but it gives me better insight into human society, which science classes could not provide.
17. Laugh at weird moments
People usually laugh when something funny happens; I laugh when I expect something funny will happen. Whenever I listen to a funny story with others or watch variety shows with my family, I am the first one to laugh and feel awkward in silence. I also sometimes
cannot help laughing at someone is extremely angry or saying cursing words. I sometimes went trouble because of this weird habit, but still I don't know why I chuckle at such serious moments.
18. Brian May!!!
I admire Brian May, the guitar player of Queen. He is not only a legendary guitar player but also an astronomer. He also actively participate in animal rights movement. However, I did not feel so much connection with him before I watched his interview.(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBm1Qfpa_nY)
Especially, when he said, "I don't like being a tourist", I instantly felt connection to him. He lived a different life from the rock stars, that we expect to see. He liked adventure but only the adventure with reasons.
Especially, when he said, "I don't like being a tourist", I instantly felt connection to him. He lived a different life from the rock stars, that we expect to see. He liked adventure but only the adventure with reasons.
19. KYPT
KYPT has special meanings for me. Firstly, it was when I watched 2009 IYPT finals that I first got interested in KMLA. I could not understand either physics or English, but I was awed by the grand scale of the competition. Secondly, it was first time I've ever participated in a debate contest. It was hard for me to make a good argument, because of my compromising personality, but I learned a lot throughout the competition. Finally, I could learn from students from various high schools. Each team had different strengths and weaknesses, and debating with those team, we could evaluate ourselves from more objective view.
20. Walking in KMLA campus alone
I like walking in campus in weekends. I sometimes walk with friends, but usually I walk alone. I organize my thoughts, look around the trees, and sometimes find a strange animals.
21. Minjok orchestra
I am cello player in Minjok Orchestra. Honestly, I am not a good cello player. However, I am the most earnest one in my part: I hardly get absent. Often times, I feel too tired to carry the cello all the way to Choongsam or to the gym. In that case, I stop hesitating and just go. When I start to hesitate, I think of more and more reasons why I should not attend the practice. Sometimes it is better not to think and just do something.
22. ve..r...y s..l...o....w...... speaker
I speak slowly, as all know. This is partly because of my background; people from Choongchungdo speak slowly. Actually, I didn't know that I speak slowly until graduated from middle school. When I first practiced for KYPT, it was almost impossible to finish a speech in time, because I spoke way too slowly. I think I have improved over practice, yet I want people to be more patient about someone slow. Often times, a slow speaker is very thoughtful.
23. Peer tutoring
I have done a lot of peer tutoring in KMLA, either formally or informally. I usually taught physics and math. I personally like MPT very much since it enable me to help other students and check my knowledge at the same time. Especially, when I teach physics, I have to keep on asking myself "why?" in order to be sure about any concept. Without this thought process, I might teach tutees misconceptions, which is very irresponsible thing to do.
24. Snow
I love snow. I like its sound and texture. I still remember the excitement when the morning exercise was cancelled because of snow in some day in April, 2011.
25. I used to sleep and eat regularly
Until I went in to Hyewoomnarae. I used to sleep at least before 12 : 30 every night and woke up at 6. Sometimes it is inevitable to go to bed very late, because of presentation or research paper. I also could not imagine skipping meals. However, I sometimes inevitably skip meals because of the orchestra practice. I feel vacant when I stuff chocopie into my mouth and head to Choongsam, carrying the cello. I used to love chocopie, but I don't want it as my "meal".
Until I went in to Hyewoomnarae. I used to sleep at least before 12 : 30 every night and woke up at 6. Sometimes it is inevitable to go to bed very late, because of presentation or research paper. I also could not imagine skipping meals. However, I sometimes inevitably skip meals because of the orchestra practice. I feel vacant when I stuff chocopie into my mouth and head to Choongsam, carrying the cello. I used to love chocopie, but I don't want it as my "meal".
26. TED
I started to watch TED in order to practice public speech. Although I applied for Hyewoomnarae, I was afraid of speaking in front of others, especially in English. At first, I typed the script and memorized the script and recited it. However, people kept saying that I looked discouraged and insecure. Therefore, I started to mimic the TED speech again and again. When I watched a speech for the first time, it does not seem so special, but as I replayed it, I could gradually find how the speaker "planned" his or her speech. Although some of the speakers are inherently good at talking, some are internal and quiet. Yet, they develop their own way to empathize their calmness and move others' mind. This training, in deed, helped me to become a better speaker, although I still need more practice for impromptu speech.
I started to watch TED in order to practice public speech. Although I applied for Hyewoomnarae, I was afraid of speaking in front of others, especially in English. At first, I typed the script and memorized the script and recited it. However, people kept saying that I looked discouraged and insecure. Therefore, I started to mimic the TED speech again and again. When I watched a speech for the first time, it does not seem so special, but as I replayed it, I could gradually find how the speaker "planned" his or her speech. Although some of the speakers are inherently good at talking, some are internal and quiet. Yet, they develop their own way to empathize their calmness and move others' mind. This training, in deed, helped me to become a better speaker, although I still need more practice for impromptu speech.
27. Water painting
I like painting, although I've never painted in KMLA. When I was in kindergarten, I wanted to be an artist. Many people around me said that I'm talented in drawing. I liked the texture of a watery brush, sweeping the paper. I prefer a clean and transparent water painting to a heavy oil painting. When I heard that art class in KMLA is not a painting and drawing class but a photography class, I transferred to music class. I want to paint again after I graduate.
28. Movies
My favorite Korean director is Park Chan Wook. I was mesmerized by beautiful match of the music, plot and the scenes while I was watching Old Boy. I also like Christopher Nolan for the similar reason. He has his own way to proceed the story. However my favorite movie is Up, an animation made by Pixar. The color of the scenes is wonderful and the plot is moving too. Although many students were not serious about Korean class in junior year, I was happy to see so many great movies and start to get find interest in analyzing the films. I hope I can join film study club in college and freely share good movies with others.
29. ah...
is the most used expression in my text message, facebook chatting, etc. I usually start my word with 'ah..'. Usually it does not have special meaning but sometimes it implies that I am not satisfied, surprised, or relieved. In this paragraph, I used 'ah...' for no good reason.
30. KMLA
KMLA was not my dream school, actually. Yet, I find it very lucky to be here, and I strongly believe KMLA is the right place for me.
