Monday, April 30, 2012

if i was posting a status update right now, it would read as follows...
current mood: thankful :)

i recently began grad school and our first assignment was to write an autobiography. i groaned and rolled my eyes with the rest of my classmates when the professor gave us our homework. i approached the assignment with a "complete as quickly as possible" mentality, but was surprised when i started typing and didn't stop until i had practically written a book. i've included a few excerpts below:
I was born in a suburb of Seoul, South Korea to a struggling young family and adopted to the United States at the age of six months.  Raised in the Nazarene church, my parents instilled in me early on the values and beliefs that I hold to today.  I grew up in Connecticut and Ohio and moved to Tennessee in 2005 to begin my undergraduate work.  After earning my Bachelor’s degree in 2009, I spent all of 2010 in South Korea teaching conversational English to elementary school students.  That year provided me many opportunities for personal growth and development; I will always remember 2010 as one of the single most formative years of my life.  During the course of the year, I was also given the rare and unique opportunity to reconnect with my birth family.

After returning to the U.S. in 2011, I came back to {my alma mater} to work as the administrative assistant in the Office of Academic Affairs and the Office of the Provost.  I absolutely love my job because it is a new adventure daily.  When I come in every morning, I have no idea what new challenges that particular day will present.  My biggest projects currently include planning next month’s Commencement ceremonies and assisting my boss in the reaccreditation process that is required of the university every ten years.  Both are extremely challenging and time-consuming, but I am thankful for the invaluable knowledge I am currently gaining from these experiences.  When I was first hired, my boss told me, “You know {this} is a great place to be a student, but it also a wonderful place to work.”  I could not agree more.  I am very thankful for a job that I sincerely enjoy waking up for every morning.

On the rare occasion that I find some spare time, I enjoy knitting, baking...traveling, reading, catching up with friends, or watching the Food Network.  I also love eating – I am a major “foodie."  Whenever possible, I enjoy meeting up with my sister or three brothers.  Unfortunately, we are spread out across the country, so we rarely have that opportunity.  One of my two Korean brothers is also currently in the U.S., studying English in New England.

I am currently working to become more actively involved in the adoption community - writing articles, attending conferences, conducting interviews, recording podcasts, etc.  In addition to traveling as much as possible, my future plans include working in some sort of position that will utilize both my mind for business and my passion for helping adoptees and their families.  

I am very humbled by and grateful for all of the opportunities that have been presented to me in my short 25 years of life.
i've been able to see a lot in my first 25 years and am so eager to see what the next 50 will hold! :)

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