Assignment #1

1. Describe where you come from

My name is Sarah Park and I'm originally from Seoul, South Korea. Growing up, I moved back and forth from Korea to the U.S., having lived in San Francisco, Connecticut, and Los Angeles. I would say this upbringing of mine has greatly impacted my identity today, especially in terms of empathy and acceptance.

2. Tell me where you're going

I am not sure where I will be moving to after graduation, but I hope to settle down in the U.S. (preferably the west coast) to work and spend my 20s here. Afterward, I would ideally be finding a career that would allow me to travel around or go back and forth from home to America. 

3. Tell me how you plan to get there

I am excited to continue exploring my field/industry of interest and figure out the career I would like to take for life. I want to maintain a strong work ethic and gain as much experience as I can, both in professional and personal settings of life, to truly understand and build my character. 

4. How are you LIKE your parents

Mom: caring, likes meeting new people, devoted to the people around her, finding new places to eat 

Dad: patient, compassionate, homebody, likes to travel

5. How are you UNLIKE your parents

I am unlike my parents in the sense that I have different values and beliefs from them. Living away from my family from the age of 13, I was always surrounded by my friends and teachers more than my parents and was exposed to different cultures and ways of thinking. My values have been shaped by a mixture of Western and Korean culture, while my parents have only experienced living in one setting which sometimes presents our differences. 

4. Have you developed your own expectations for yourself, or if you were honest, would you say you're operating under someone else's expectations?

In all honesty, I would say that I am still in the process of understanding what it means to live for myself. Inherently having a people-pleaser mindset, I grew up always trying to match others' expectations and catering to whoever was present in front of me. While I found peace and fulfillment doing so, I have recently experienced discomfort with the idea of living for someone other than myself and am learning the ropes to setting boundaries and goals to become a self-made individual. 

5. Who, other than a relative, serves as a model for you of someone who lives life with great passion and personal responsibility?

Ally Kim, who is my current roommate and one of the closest friends I've made at USC, is someone I have great respect for. 

She is someone with the most vibrant and welcoming energy while having a strong sense of self-discipline and passion for everything she commits to. Personally, these qualities are very admirable and also traits that I have been working to develop in myself, which is why I always am grateful to learn from her and experience new opportunities together. If I were to choose one thing that I have learned from Ally throughout our time being friends, it is loyalty towards loved ones and being strong-willed/trusting your abilities with whatever comes your way. 

6. Connecting with the ANIMAL WORLD: What wild animal do you feel a special connection with, and why?

Pandas :) I've recently been loving pandas, not for a particular reason, but simply because watching them/pictures of them makes me happy + at peace. I enjoy their adorable behavior, calm but chaotic actions, and their nonchalant attitude. 

7. Connecting with the NATURE KINGDOMS: Describe a significant childhood encounter with a tree or plant.

When I was in elementary school, there were always one or two dandelions on the walk back home from school. My friends and I were so excited to blow them and make a wish. We always believed that it would come true, and the memories of blowing them off and making silly wishes still last with me today and make me reminisce about the past when happiness came from everything around me. However, ever since my mom taught me not to snap off flowers/plants like I did with the dandelions, I stopped doing so and appreciated them from afar. 

8. 

Sun Sign: Virgo

Moon Sign: Gemini
Rising Sign: Sagittarius