2nd Poetry Assignment: Hyuck Choi

The Pain of our Family

7am

A new day starts with the chirping of my pet parrot, LTE Optimus

Who is my only connection with my family elsewhere

Who is silenced with a touch

9am

The chemistry teacher acidizes my mind,

Pouring out oil-like facts,

Me absorbing the facts like an oil cleanup ship

Collecting them inside, unable to be used

1pm

My stomach is purring for the meat,

Then disgusted with the leftover

That will return to Gaia,

Only to find an unpleasant mother

2pm

I return to my robotic lectures

And think how I have been ignoring my ties with my family for days

5pm

I am walking back to my cement building,

Wandering in the ancient mother’s skin,

Wondering how much of her hair must have been cut

To build my home

7pm

I talk with my family through my pet

Not seeing its tiny waves that carries my voice

That carries my mother’s voice

That carries my father’s voice,

That carries my sister’s voice,

That carries bombs against insects.

11pm

The free imprisonment of studying is over

And I go the mini-mart full of food.

Full of trees obliterated into millions of sheets

Full of transparent harms

that take thousands of years to become a part of Earth

1am

Time to say good night to the stars that cannot be seen

To my family in our house

But it will never be a good night for the family

The family that was born before my family was born

Lying in bed

Asking for some medicine,

Who is silenced by their own children.

2nd PE assignment Subin Kwon

Everyone has right to live one’s own life. ―Waris Dirie, Desert Flower

 

There was a girl who seemed to be perfect. She was not smart but always top of her school. She was not nice but always beloved by pretty mother, great father and many thoughtful friends. She was not attractive but good at relationships and even elected as school president. Everything seemed to be perfect. Friends of her mother who wanted to take over her school uniforms used to say, “You must have no concern about anything, huh?” But she often felt endless emptiness. She did not have any dissatisfaction about her life, but she also did not have any affection at her life. She had no dream, hobby or something that she really wanted to do. The society that she has lived in for 16 years is a very strange place. Everyone has the same goal and follows it. All students who have different talents go along one way. ‘Be top of their elementary, middle and high schools and get into a good university, then get a good job.’ But she could not understand this social structure. ‘Who set the standard of a “good life”?’ ‘Who on earth can evaluate someone’s life as successful or unsuccessful?’ and ‘why do we try to follow the way that others want for us?’

     She decided to get out of the aimless life and find her own desirable life. Therefore, she entered the HAFS international course. She had never been to the U.S. and never thought of studying abroad. However, she has always been eager to have such an opportunity to follow her dream in broader world. To someone, 3 years of HAFS life could be regarded as nothing. To someone, studying and living abroad is considered to be nothing; to her, who lived her entire life in Korea, these things needed great courage and patience.

During the 3 years of high school, many hardships: language barrier, cultural sense of difference made it difficult for her. However, she never regretted because it was her own choice, which was the first one that she made with her own faith and perspective. Therefore, she could endure the adversities for her pursued life, wanted future.