In this blog post, I’ll summarize my academic experiences and school activities during high school, examples of compassion, generosity, and teamwork, and the process of preparing for a career in nursing.
Writing about my academic experiences and reflections
During high school, I worried a lot about my grades because my class ranking didn’t match my goals. I always wanted to be in the top five in my class, but in reality, I often fell outside the top ten. My obsession with rankings sometimes led me to feel competitive toward my classmates. I realized that focusing solely on competition would strain my friendships and wouldn’t significantly improve my grades, so I changed my mindset and shifted my focus toward collaborating with my classmates to improve our grades together.
Our school had a system where each class’s overall grade average was compared to determine class rankings, with cash prizes awarded accordingly. The principal actively encouraged this system, fostering an atmosphere that promoted class unity, and I decided to use this system to collaborate with my classmates and transform our study environment.
Specifically, I created a section on the class bulletin board where students could post recommendations for study guides or workbooks. I started by recommending workbooks myself and encouraged other classmates to share their own recommendations. Based on these recommendations, we organized group purchases, and I voluntarily took on the role of contacting the publishers directly to order the necessary quantities and distribute them to my classmates.
During exam periods, I posted relevant information—such as exam syllabi and past exam questions—on the bulletin board to encourage sharing among classmates, ensuring everyone benefited from this information. As a result, our class fostered an atmosphere where we supported each other’s studies and boosted motivation, while excessive competitiveness diminished. Personally, thanks to this positive class atmosphere, my rank improved to 5th place, and our class as a whole secured 2nd place school-wide, allowing us to share the prize money together.
Major School Activities and Reflections
As the Physical Education Club President during my freshman year of high school, I worked hard to actively lead PE classes. Since I’ve always enjoyed PE and had strong practical skills, my friends often asked me to teach them, and my PE teacher told me my help was a great asset to the class. I acted like an assistant teacher, focusing on helping classmates who were struggling.
My main responsibility was assisting with the physical fitness test. Although individual scores for each event in the physical fitness test were not recorded separately, it was a crucial assessment that determined an overall fitness grade. The events included the pull-up, long jump, push-ups, and sit-ups, and students had to meet the criteria for each grade to achieve a higher overall grade. I received a Grade 1 in most events except for flexibility; while I received a Grade 2 in flexibility, I was able to achieve an overall Grade 1 fitness rating based on my total score.
Since many of my friends were at a disadvantage because they didn’t fully understand the rules or grading criteria for each event, I explained the rules and tips in detail. For example, for sit-ups, I explained that you had to touch your elbows to your knees for the rep to count, and during the actual test, I stood beside them and kept reminding them to bring their elbows to their ears and touch their knees, helping them improve their scores.
For the hanging test, which my classmates found the most difficult, many asked me for advice since my personal best was consistently over three minutes. I advised them to do light arm exercises starting 30 minutes before the test, and I told them that applying flour or Vaseline to their palms would help them hold on longer in case their sweaty palms caused them to slip. Thanks to this advice, my classmates were able to last a little longer, and hearing their words of gratitude made me feel proud as the physical education club president.
Although I was particularly weak in flexibility events during PE, my classmates helped me by pressing down on my waist and assisting me in stretching my arms fully, which allowed me to achieve better results. My efforts helped my classmates, and their help allowed me to improve my own weaknesses, so I learned that when everyone’s efforts come together, we can achieve even better results.
Writing About Examples of Consideration, Sharing, and Cooperation, and My Reflections
Our school typically scheduled two hours a week for health classes, sex education, hygiene education, and safety education to ensure in-depth learning. Through these health classes, I was exposed to a lot of medical and health knowledge I hadn’t known before, which made me realize the importance of medical services. As a future nursing major, I made a special effort to pay close attention to the lessons and the teacher’s advice.
One day, a professional hospice nurse was invited to give a lecture in our health class. Since I had always aspired to become a male nurse, my teacher, remembering this, kindly encouraged me to use this opportunity to gain as much information as possible. Through that lecture, I learned for the first time that there are specialized fields within nursing, and that hospice care is a distinct one among them.
According to the lecture, hospice care involves caring for terminally ill patients and providing counseling to their families. As someone with a strong sense of service and responsibility, I was drawn to the nature of hospice work and became eager to learn more about the skills and mindset required for that profession.
In this class, our group staged a play where we took on the roles of patients, family members, and counselors. I played the counselor, acting out scenes where I shared in and empathized with the grief of the patient and their family. Even though it was just a play, I became so emotionally invested that I found myself in tears. Through this experience, I deeply realized how important it is to understand the feelings of those facing death and to offer comfort through conversation.
Efforts and Preparation Related to Motivation for Application and Career Plans
Having grown up in Busan, I have strong ties to the local community. As I spent time near the school, I naturally developed a desire to study nursing here. I have had a spirit of service since childhood and enjoy caring for those who are sick or in distress, which led me to dream of becoming a nurse. In particular, a lecture by a hospice nurse I encountered in a health class inspired me to pursue a career as a specialized hospice nurse.
Academically, I intend to focus my studies on palliative nursing. Since providing care that offers a comfortable and fulfilling life to terminally ill patients and their families requires not only medical knowledge but also family counseling skills, I plan to devote significant effort to learning counseling theories and techniques. I believe that in the field of counseling, theory alone is insufficient, so I must gain extensive hands-on experience.
I will make full use of internships and volunteer work to gain meaningful practical experience and use this as a foundation to solidify my career path. Although awareness of hospice and palliative care is still limited in our society, I aim to grow as a professional in this field and contribute to improving public perception and providing on-site care.
