In this blog post, I will summarize what I have learned based on the efforts I made toward my studies, as well as my participation in school activities, volunteer work, and collaborative projects during my high school years.

High School Experience

Efforts Dedicated to Academics

When my freshman year of high school began, I attended a cram school, just like my other friends. I couldn’t afford private tutoring, and since all my friends were going to cram school, I followed suit. However, I quit after exactly six months. First, I didn’t like the financial burden of the tuition. Also, the cram school had only one real advantage: simply having a teacher there helped me focus and study. I felt it was unreasonable to ask my parents to pay such a significant amount each month just for that “focus.” So, I boldly quit the cram school and began studying on my own starting from summer vacation. In the process, I went through a lot of trial and error. This was because studying alone could cause my concentration to wander. When I studied by myself, I inevitably found myself thinking about other things or getting distracted by other tasks. I blamed myself a lot, but I couldn’t help losing focus. So, while I was wondering how I could regain my concentration, I suddenly thought of an “alarm.” The reason I couldn’t concentrate while studying was that I had set specific time frames, thinking, “I’ll study from this time to that time.” At the academy, they don’t set it that way; instead, they tell you to solve problems 1 through 5 and hand them in for review, or solve pages 10 through 18 and hand them in for review. So, I tried to solve those problems quickly. Once I realized this, I started using an alarm clock. And I began studying. I broke my work into sets of five problems and tried to finish them within the time I had set on the alarm clock. Surprisingly, my concentration improved. I was also able to study without wasting time. I no longer had distracting thoughts, and my problem-solving speed even increased. This experience taught me that when studying, I need to set clear deadlines and give myself a specific time limit.

Ambassador Activities

I’m naturally an extrovert. I love hanging out with friends and solving problems through conversation with them. However, after seeing my parents struggle and realizing our family’s financial situation had worsened, I couldn’t just be a carefree child anymore. I could see how hard my parents were struggling. So, while I was still a child who laughed, chatted, and played pranks, I gradually became someone who also read books and spent time alone. And I started to worry a lot. I secretly suffered through a difficult adolescence, constantly wondering, “Why are other people like this, but I’m like this?” That’s also when writing became a habit for me. What restored my confidence once again was this “Ambassador” program. As an ambassador, I get to go out and promote our school, meeting middle school students to tell them about its strengths. I ended up taking on this role unexpectedly, and through it, I met many people. That experience helped me become a child who could stand in front of others and speak again. That’s why this activity, which helped me regain my confidence, is the most special to me. And through this activity—by meeting so many different people and listening to their stories—I gradually began to think that I wanted to become a writer. Even people who seem outgoing have a dark side, and even those who seem gloomy have a bright side. People who seemed weak have moments of strength, and friends who seem strong actually have tender sides. Seeing these aspects filled me with admiration. I truly believed that if God exists, He deserves praise just for creating people with such diverse personalities. So, this activity became a cherished experience for me, as it allowed me to meet people and imagine all sorts of stories.

Volunteer Work

Another thing I enjoyed while attending school was “volunteer work.” Our school is quite generous in its support for volunteer activities. So, if students are willing, they can participate in simple volunteer work like picking up trash on the streets, or they can work with elderly women in shantytowns or at children’s welfare centers. I appreciated that our school had such a system in place, and while attending school, I signed up for and participated in many volunteer activities. Through this, I was able to realign myself—someone who, if left unchecked, might have become too self-absorbed. If you spend all your time studying and writing, no matter how many people you meet or how many conversations you have, you eventually end up becoming self-absorbed. However, through volunteer work, I realized that my own perspective isn’t the whole picture and that I still have much to learn about life. This is because I met people who were living lives far more difficult yet far more remarkable than my own—children overcoming poverty, people surmounting disabilities. Every time I saw them, I felt a shiver of awe and was deeply moved. That is why volunteering helped me develop a broader perspective.

Practicing Compassion, Sharing, and Cooperation

My efforts toward cooperation and conflict resolution stemmed directly from my role as class president. When I became class president, I felt that I had to become someone worthy of the trust my classmates placed in me. So, I always kept a close eye on my classmates, checking to see if they were struggling or facing any difficulties. As I did so, I began to see the struggles my classmates were facing one by one. It seemed that the majority of them were from financially disadvantaged backgrounds. While managing their documents and various certificates, I was surprised to realize just how many students were struggling to pay for school meals. There were also many students who found it difficult to pay their tuition fees. Seeing them in such situations, I decided I had to help in any way I could. First, while serving as a student ambassador, I had memorized the details of our scholarship programs. Since I needed to explain to middle school students why our school was a good choice, I had committed the scholarship and other welfare programs to memory. And it turned out that many students were completely unaware of these programs. Watching them, I decided I needed to inform them about the programs they could use or help them apply. So, I told them about the scholarship programs available based on certain grade point averages, as well as the medical expense support programs that kick in when specific health insurance conditions are met. And if my friends found the application process difficult, I would step in and apply on their behalf. Through this, I realized that simply knowing about these small programs and offering help could make a real difference for my friends. It was also striking to see how a small act of concern could change various aspects of their lives. That’s when I realized why showing a little concern is the first step toward making society a better place. So, from that point on, I began to pay attention to a variety of things. I took an interest not only in my studies but also in social issues, environmental issues, and many other areas.