I can still recall the way my heart would start to beat fast out of excitement every time I stepped outside into the seemingly fresh air of my hometown, -, where I born on November 30th, 1992 to my mother and father, -. I do not extract any memories before my brother was born two years later, on -.
On most afternoons, I remember I would go outside and play with some of the other neighborhood children; well, at least until my mom started sending me to an art/piano school in the daytime. Then in the evenings, my mom, my brother and I would go to my grandparents’ house to eat dinner with the rest of my mom’s side of the family while my dad would usually only go on the weekends because he had to work. Because of this, I spent a lot of time with my extended family, particularly my cousin, MinKyung. We would always go on family vacations together such as the beach, water park, and mountains.
I was taught to read and learn basic math starting at the age of three by my mom and a once-a-week tutor later on. By the time I was five, my parents had made a decision to move to America, where my dad’s parents lived. I recollect asking my mom why there were always strangers coming in and out of our house and when she told me that we were selling our house and moving to America, I simply did not understand for I could not grasp the concept of America at the time. My mom started teaching me the English alphabet at the time but I did not understand what all these strange symbols meant and I became even more confused.
The day came where we would leave Korea and move to America finally came around. My dad and I left for America first while my mom and brother came a few weeks later.