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Life Experiences
The
Growling Dog Remaining in My Mother`s Mind
By Lee Ji Young
My
mother has refused to buy me a puppy as a birthday present because
she remembers a horrible childhood memory about dogs. When she was
five years old, she lived in a straw-thatched house in the countryside,
where her family raised an aggressive dog native to Korea called
Jindo. It was so big and wild that she felt goose bumps on her arms
whenever the dog barked at her. One chilly night, while she was
playing with a ball alone, the ball slipped out of her hands and
hit the sleeping dog in the backyard. The furiously barking dog
was so angry that it bit the string, unbound it, and lunged at her.
She thought the dog would kill her, so she fled into a dark room
crying and calling her mother. Unfortunately, as the paper on the
door frame was thin, the growling dog scratched on the locked door
and thrust its nose in to sniff at her. Frozen, she tried to turn
on the light only to find that she was too short to touch the switch.
In the dark silence, she smelled the dog's breath, heard her heart
throbbing, and tasted salty tears on her cheek. The long night ended
when her mother came back to find her daughter asleep, tired from
weeping. A significant experience in childhood tends to stay deep
inside the heart and affect the rest of a person`s life. My mother's
terrible memory has restricted my opportunity to be friends with
dogs.
The
Best Concert of My Life
By Cho Won Jae
Last
Sunday, I went to the concert of Pat Metheny Group, which is one
of my favorite modern jazz bands. I had been waiting for them to
play in Korea since 1997 when I first heard their song "If
I Could", and I finally had a chance to get a ticket. The music
they performed that night proved their reputation splendidly and
pleased everyone in the cozy and mid-sized hall, which Pat praised
to be a nice place to have a concert. When playing together, the
six talented band members impressed my mind overwhelmingly with
fluent and inspiring sounds, while Pat touched my heart smoothly
with warm and lyrical melodies when playing alone with an acoustic
guitar. I was sitting in the center of the second row where, right
in front of my eyes, I could see Pat knitting his brows while he
was concentrating on playing the guitar. Sometimes I could even
hear him taking a breath while he was playing a quiet tune. It was
unbelievable that I was watching the guitarist whom I have admired
for a! long time at such a short distance, and it made me even more
absorbed in the concert all through the night, which felt like half
an hour. Everyone else seemed to be enjoying the concert to the
fullest. They applauded aloud, cheered with joy after each song
was over, and stood up for several minutes clapping their hands
to show their respect and gratefulness to the performers even after
they went off the stage. Although the ticket cost me 80,000 won
(about 70 U.S dollars), which was not small for me, I do not regret
a bit, for the concert was worth it. If they are planning to play
here once again, I'll gladly pay for that. Why not for the best?
The
Gateball Match
By Hye Jung Son
My
grandfather liked sports when he was young. He is now eighty six
years old, and he still likes sports. A few months ago, he knew
that a lot of old people played gateball in the park near my house.
At the beginning he was afraid of playing a outdoor sport, because
he had not played any sports for many years. However, he went to
the park and played gateball almost every day. Then the village
office held a gateball match in July. He took part in that match.
Because there were so many participants, I went to the park to cheer
him on. I saw him standing at the starting point. I stretched hands
over my head, and shouted to him that he could do well in the match.
The game started with the first player's hitting. Tick! As the game
went on, The score moved up and down like a seesaw. Therefore all
of the people in the park held their breath. When the game entered
the middle stage, grandfather hit his ball out of the course. The
ball rolled over and over. However, he was not embarrassed, stood
upright, breathed deeply, and hit the ball again. Finally, my grandfather
won the match. His win is very meaningful because it gave him confident
of outdoor sports.
Change
My School, Change My Character
By Hyejin Choi
I
transferred from one school to another when I was 14, and it changed
many things in my life. The problem was that I was sensitive enough
to be hurt from tiny little things. One day, during art class, we
had to find partners to make mosaic works together. At first, I
thought that was a really good chance to make friends; therefore,
I tried to talk to anyone who looked alone so that I could do the
activity with someone. When I looked around, however, it seemed
that everyone got their own partners. At last, I walked to a classmate
and asked her to do the activity with me. Unfortunately, she said
unconcernedly that she already had a partner, and I was hurt by
her cold reaction. Luckily, a classmate named Sun-mi came and asked
me to do the activity with her partners. If she had not talked to
me kindly, I would not be able to try to talk to unfamiliar person
again. That is because I was shy, and I also missed my former school's
friends a lot. Nevertheless, through all these experiences, I could
understand that it was me who had to try to be close to others.
I did my bestto be good to others and make friends by being outgoing
and trying to be with other classmates more. As a result, I made
some good friends and gained confidence. I had been a very inexperienced
one girl, and making new friends in unfamiliar place was very tough
for me. However, through the trial and error to get new friends,
I grow up. It was truly a good opportunity to make myself sunshiny
and also give me my lifetime friends.
The Significant Event of My Life
By Go Un Choi
I
want to study English and English literature at Yonsei University
to be an interpreter. Therefore, the entrance examination for university
was not only the final aim of the course of high school, but also
the first step of my regular study for the future. This is the reason
why it was one of the most important things of my life. I was very
nervous but had confidence because I always made good scores in
the trial examinations. I took the exam calmly and expected a good
score. The score, however, was the worst one I had ever gotten.
I was sure that I could not enter the university I hoped to go with
that score. I felt everything was going black, did not know what
I would do next, and spent my days in tears. However, the examination
was not yet finished, and there was the discourse examination left.
The discourse exam is a written exam that students state their own
opinion about given articles or an essay. If I made a very good
score on the discourse examination, I could recover my poor score.
Therefore, I gathered myself up and wrote more than three essays
for about six hours everyday to get a good score on the discourse
examination and enter Yonsei University. The place where I took
the exam was in underground, and the fetid smell of that place made
me anxious. My desk leaned to one side, so my pencils and eraser
sliped and fell to the floor. Because of those bad surroundings,
I could not concentrate on exam, but I did my best and made the
most what I had. After I took the exam, my family and I impatiently
worried about the result. At last, I saw the announcement of the
result of the examination via internet, and found that my name and
number were up on the list of successful candidates! I could not
believe that I finally bacame student of Yonsei University. My mother
and I threw ourselves into each other's arms and wept with joy.
After that day, the telephone was ringing off the hook for days,
and my all near relatives and friends celebrated to my success in
the examination. I, through this experience, realize that whoever
does not give up and does one's best to the end will be sure to
go through hardships and accomplish one's purpose.
o be good to others and make friends by being outgoing and trying
to be with other classmates more. As a result, I made some good
friends and gained confidence. I had been a very inexperienced one
girl, and making new friends in unfamiliar place was very tough
for me. However, through the trial and error to get new friends,
I grow up. It was truly a good opportunity to make myself sunshiny
and also give me my lifetime friends.
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