Choeunchan Lee - Week 16: Beautiful Memories
In Korea, there is a well-known saying that 추억은 미화된다, which translates to “memories are beautified.” This phrase means that regardless of how tired or sad you were at a certain moment, recalling those past experiences at a later time often rewrites the memory as a pleasant experience.
I believe that this beautification of memory is true because whenever I reflect back on past stressful events, it never seems as bad as it first felt in that moment. No matter how hard I try to remember, I really cannot remember any distinct “bad memories” from the earlier years of my life. But interestingly, what I do remember is all the happy moments—the fun times I spent laughing with my friends, the warm times I spent with my family, and the goals I achieved after months of preparation.
And I am really glad that one day, I will be able to look back on the hard times from this AP Lang class and remember mostly the not-too-horrifying parts of it, such as Mrs. Smith’s Friday hairs and the donut holes :) I am really glad that one day, the countless writing and reading assignments I completed in this class will not forever remain as stressful experiences, but as powerful springboards that improved my overall English skills.
Although I did not earn the best grades in this class, I do not regret taking it as I am confident that all the hard work I put into this class will serve as proof for the future Eunchan that I am capable of overcoming challenges that I once thought were impossible. This class has shown me that I can apply this same hard work and perseverance to any other areas of my life in overcoming challenges and becoming a better version of myself. Thank you so much to the most wonderful English teacher Mrs. Smith and my classmates for helping me survive this experience !!
Hi Eunchan! The phrase “memories are beautified” is a really accurate way of looking at this phenomenon! It’s really interesting how your and Max’s blogs have reflected the argument prompt in the exam: how optimism is the most important when we want to give up (It’s been 48 hours, CollegeBoard, so please don’t come after me.) My friends have asked a lot about whether or not I would recommend APENG to incoming juniors, and they were taken aback in shock when I said yes, absolutely, without a doubt—after all of those times they saw me having mental breakdowns over annotations throughout the year. But, quite honestly, what I will remember from this class won’t be the timed writes or the annotations or the essays or the anchoring. What I will carry instead will be my English writing and analyzing skills (and my time management skills), which have drastically improved in the past school year, thanks to this class. Thank you for sharing, and good luck in wherever your “springboards” take you!
ReplyDeleteHey Eunchan!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your final blog! It’s nice to see how you tied in a saying from your culture to our class and this past year. I really relate to what you said about how the “bad memories” from previous experiences never feel as bad as they felt in that moment. I often think of this when going through extremely busy schedules or harsh times to motivate myself to move forward. Although when it goes by, the “bad memories” still stay, but they are overshadowed by the good that came from it. Perhaps it may be just me due to how I often see things in an optimistic light, but I truly think that peace of mind, forgiveness, and being optimistic can improve your experience in everything you do. Of course, it is good to self-reflect on the bad things, but I would much rather think the good might be there.
When I was in Korea a couple of years ago for a camp, there was a typhoon and a heat wave while I was sleeping outdoors. The heat was harsh, humid, and terrible, but trying to embrace the nice breeze that comes by every 10 seconds over the extreme heat burning me allowed me to keep pushing and allowed a good view of my experience there. I’m yapping right now, but I think this style of optimism allowed me to somewhat enjoy the hard work that we all had to do in APENG, because I knew that the hard work would pay off, and I would gain valuable experience from taking this class. In case you aren’t in any of my classes next year, I hope you achieve anything you put your mind to in your future endeavors and enjoy your last year in high school filled with memorable moments!
-Colin
Hi Eunchan. I really enjoyed having APENG with you this year, and it has always been fun to have you in my classes. What are you taking next year? I hope to see you still. If not, I’m definitely down to go to Hayoon’s house—it sounds really fun! Maybe we can meet up and finally do something other than study…
ReplyDeleteThe 추억s are definitely 미화된다ing right now. Reading everyone’s blog and just thinking about this past year is making me tear up, even though I feel like I’ve been complaining about APENG the entire year. But now looking back, it really wasn’t that bad. Or maybe I’ve gained a higher tolerance for stress and work? Hopefully our English skills are amazing now!!
I know the future Eunchan will overcome her challenges and achieve her goals in the future. You’re an amazing person—super friendly with a lot of personality. I don’t think you will ever have problems with relating with others. You should be proud of that. Dhrichanism will follow me for the rest of my life. Or I will follow Dhrichanism?
I’m acting as if this is the last time I’m going to talk to you. It’s not. We will speak again (over summer let’s actually hang out pls).