On this application, my name is JMC. I am an offspring of a very traditional Korean mother who strongly believes that the only synonym to success is...Yale. Well, any other Ivy League school would do, as long as she's able to show off my diploma to her friends at the friday night bible study at our church. To many of my friends, I become J-dilla. People know me as the 'quiet at first but once you break the ice i will never let you stop laughing' kind of guy. I am a 'people pleaser'. I try to remain as honest as possible while saying all the right things at the right times. I believe that smiles are a lot more attractive than scowls and I will do whatever I can in my power to bring joy to the people around me. But to my very special group of esoteric, musician friends, my identity is reconfigured and I metamorphisize into JMC, one third of the KLM rap group based right here in Northern Virginia. Yes, I am a rapper. Yes, I am Korean. And yes, I realize that my mom is going to disown me when she finds out that those so called 'library' trips were actually freestyle battles held at the most dangerous venues on the outskirts of the District of Columbia.
I believe that I was blessed with the ability to adapt. Ever since birth, due to my Korean American background, I was placed in a world where I would have to pick apart both cultures and acclimate to my surroundings while respecting my traditional upbringings. Originally from Michigan, my family moved to and fro numerous locations until we finally settled in to the quiet surburbia of northern Virginia. Like the rest of my caucasian classmates, I soon learned to love skateboarding, string cheese and alternative music. While at home, I was taught martial arts, how to cook octopus and several difficult overtures by Chopin on both the piano and violin. Stuck in the middle of two cultures, I realized that if I did not embrace my hybrid nationality as a blessing and opportunity, I will forever consider...