염준호 201303872
Final Draft
Breaking Common Beliefs
"Nothing was given to me, but nothing was expected of me." This was how my mother summed up her childhood. I wanted to try many things as a child, from playing instruments to sports. Although I did not stick to one thing for more than a month, my mother seemed to be indifferent to how much money I was wasting. I would buy a guitar, or a piano or a clarinet but become tired of it before long. Just looking at my room, I was going to be a celebrity.
My mother was very different from other parents. For the twenty years I have known her, never did she hint even hint that I should become a doctor, or a lawyer. Although she later admitted that she wanted to me to get a typical high paying job, she was a strong believer of, "Since it is your life, do what you want to do." My first guess was that she had a free mind because she lived in many places. So during the interview with my mother, the first question I asked was, "Did you travel to a lot of places when you were young?" However, she only moved once in her life, from Mullyedong to Gwangmyeong, and she did not leave Korea until she was in University.
My mother was the youngest of four children, one brother, and three sisters. And she lived with four dogs. Like any typical Korean family at that time, she was rarely able to shop for clothes, and a majority of her clothes consisted of hand me downs. It was quite shocking to see the adventurous life my mother lived. When I asked my mother, "Did you experience any natural disasters?" she casually said, "My neighborhood used to flood a lot, and I had to evacuate my house and stay at school when it flooded." Like any typical child, she went to the zoo with her father, but she was able to ride the first subway ever built in Korea! The celebrities at that time received the same amount of attention as celebrities receive now, and when my mother was in middle school, she went all the way to Yeouido to see Cho Yong-pil in a concert called the Youth Parade. As for school, she either walked or rode the bus to school like any other child. Aside from that, her life was very unique.
Contrary to the Korean custom of eating at that time, where adults ate first, followed by the eldest son, than the sons, than the eldest daughters, and the youngest ate last, my mother was adored because she was the youngest, and often ate before her brother. At that time, it was uncommon for girls to be educated. It was expected of girls to only finished mandatory education, and get married. However, my mother was able to study what she wanted, and was able to attend Ewha Women's University majoring in business administration, regardless of the fact that she was the youngest child.
When I asked if there was anything she wanted to do as a child, but couldn't, after a deep sigh, she slowly opened her mouth and responded,"My only regret was that when I was a child, I was not able to play sports like swimming or skating because the only indoor gymnasium was in Jongno, and it was too far from where I lived." I asked her if she ever asked her parents if she wanted to play sports, but she simply shook her head. She knew how privileged she was, and how much her parents and brothers and sisters cared for her. Knowing how expensive and time consuming sports are, she couldn't bear to say that she wanted to swim, or skate, but not being able to play sports ended up as a little grudge in her.
"I know what it feels like to not do something you really want to do. That is why I want you to do what you want, and I will do all I can to help you do that thing." Prior to the interview, I felt my mother let me do anything because she didn't really care about what I do. However, through this interview I was able to figure out how much she cares about me, and what were here true intentions in letting me try anything I want from playing the guitar to snowboarding even if she probably knew I wouldn't do it for long.
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