Significant life experience and its personal impact

¶ … mother likes to quote a saying she learned in America: "Play the hand you're dealt, but play it as well as you can." That saying fits her live, but it suits mine also.

I was born in the United States to Korean immigrants. However, when I was two, we moved back to Korea. My parents had to work very hard to support their family there, and I spent my childhood days in a day nursery, where my mother reports I developed some fears, including a fear of certain colors. She believes that the stress of being in this nursery contributed to something that happened when I was a little older: I developed a condition called Tourette's Disorder. Tourette's is a condition where the person develops tics that persist over a period of at least a year or more. I developed this disorder when I was seven. The tics appeared suddenly, and I had no control over them.

Although I value my Korean heritage, I consider myself most fortunate that I moved back to the United States when I was almost 15. It was not an easy life change, however. The only way this could be done was for my mother to return to the United States while my father stayed in Korea to attend to his business concerns there. My mother also had to work, but I believe my parents' work ethic has been an outstanding role model for me.

I was still struggling with Tourette's when I returned to America, and in addition I had to learn to speak English well enough to succeed in school. I was able to accomplish this because I took America's motto to heart: "In God We Trust." My mother encouraged me to make the best I could of my circumstances. I wanted to do things beyond attending class and studying, but it was particularly difficult. With my mother working, I had no transportation to get to activities. I could not do any kind of volunteer work. However, there were things I could do right at school. I had had to work very hard to learn English, so I knew what it meant to struggle. I tutored friends in subjects I did very well in, math and science. In return, these friends were able to give me a ride home.