“We are all faced with a series of great
opportunities brilliantly disguised as
impossible situations,” said Chuck
Swindoll, a Christian pastor and author.
People say that the past is in the past
and you have to let it go. However,
I have noticed, through my short life
as a 16-year-old, that you always
need difficulties in your life to
challenge yourself and help you grow.
This thought is mainly due to my living
in New Zealand, where I attended
primary school for two years. People ask
me if I even remember my time there,
but then, I have barely lived 16 years,
so to me, the event is as clear as ever.
My life in New Zealand started when
I was an 8 year old; not knowing
anything, unable to recognize my
parents’ misery. In 2009, my parents
had been able to afford a house of
their own in Mokdong Apartment after
7 years of marriage. They were just
starting to expand their dream and
had sold their house in order to buy
a larger one. However, the house
prices suddenly sky-rocketed, making
it impossible for them to afford another
one. Their dream shattered, as they
ended up having to rent a house right
next to the one they had just lost.
Though disappointed, my father thought
it better to invest in the future, rather
than to cry over spilled milk. He searched
for another route that would help
prevent my mother from going through
depression.
Like this, my stay in New Zealand actually
started out as something like escapism,
running away from reality and blindly
seeking refuge in a foreign country.
I remember my early days at primary
school there, where I couldn’t understand
a word people were saying. I was thrown
into completely different environment,
barely knowing enough English to form
simple sentences. However, I was able to
communicate and make friends rather
quickly. After a couple of months, I didn’t
have any trouble using English. I believe
that memorizing a language, like we do in
Korea, and acquiring one by using it on a
daily basis, like I did in New Zealand, is
completely different. Not only could I
naturally advance my English skills, but
I’ve also been able to adapt to new
situations much better ever since.
New Zealand is widely known for its
environment. It is also called the ‘Last
Paradise’, and I remember spending my
youth running around in the fields and
going to the beach every now and often,
eating fish and chips. I remember seeing
whales and dolphins, swimming with
millions of fish, and going to fjords and
geysers. My life there allowed me to
contrast the overly-urbanized Korea
with New Zealand, where there
was nature everywhere. I could see
the difference between the way
New Zealand people, also known
as Kiwis, treated the environment,
and how we, Koreans, treat it. I noticed
that we see nature as something we
could exploit, like slaves. It’s like nature
swore allegiance to humans and is
bound to work for them. However, I have
always felt strongly about preserving
the environment ever since my time there.
I believe that we should be more aware
that just as slaves fought back against
injustices, nature will take its revenge
upon us unless we begin to deal with
global warming soon.
Because I only had my mother and sister
with me in New Zealand, I was able to
rely on them much more and we were
able to develop closer relationships. My
father, on the other hand, would occasionally
come by to see us, and his absence made
me feel his importance in my young life.
It was during these years in New Zealand
that I learned the importance of family
where I would always be loved, and realized
that they would always be a source of
happiness. Mere words cannot truly explain
the feeling I felt when I was younger. Just
talking about my time there with my fam-
with my mother brings both of us immense
happiness. Those two years were a special
time in both of our lives, and, in hindsight,
losing our house turned out to be a great
blessing.
Just because the door didn’t open the
one time you knocked, doesn’t mean
that it’s never going to open. My life
has completely changed since my time
in New Zealand, helping me shape my
identity and change how I interact with
the world. The dearest wish in my life
is to spend several months there with
my family, and go through everything
we had experienced together 7 years ago.
My primary goal is to take my mother,
who is suffering from lung cancer,
back to New Zealand and breathe some
fresh air that we cannot find here.
She deserves all the happiness in the world,
and I believe that it’s my responsibility
to devote my life to her, just as she
did with hers. Thank you.