Skip to main content

Meeting the Real Me (ear plugs)

At first, it came as a free gift from an online shopping mall. Thinking that the pair of earplug would surely come in handy, I kept them in my backpack for sometime in the future. Then, there came a day when this pair of squishy little rubber came to my attention.

My sensitive nature sometimes gives me a hard time when my roommate’s working on her homework late at night. At times, I wished I had a roommate who shares the same life pattern as mine, but it was just a dream far away. When, again, she was working on her science device late at night, and I was in the most desperate need of sleep. I remembered the existence of these earplugs. I rummaged through my backpack and took them out, and stuck them in my ears. The sensitivity to noise magically disappeared, and I happily fell asleep.

Shutting ears to the negative comments and opinions. Our physiological nature forbids such an amazing feature. Often, I envy those who claim to have selective hearing. When asked what superpower I will choose to have, I will say without reluctance the ability to selectively insulate sound. Why? Being a Korean girl attending one of the most selective schools in the nation, I am dealing with never-ending competition in and out of our classes. Though I wish for a sincere and truthful interaction with those around me, such a friendship seems to be rare these days. What makes it even worse is the fact that I am constantly being judged, evaluated, and examined in school and outside. I get less and less friendly, and I fear I might lose who I am and fear that I might adjust myself to a set of standards and social expectation against my will.

One day, I realized that it is I who constantly expose myself to the negative comments and ruminating on them like a cow chewing the cud. The cure for my fear had always been inside me all along. When I shut my ears to the judging, negative, pessimistic voice, I began to understand how I can be truly myself and whom I want to be.

Being a model student, one must always be attentive to his or her surroundings and what’s being said and instructed. But the school never taught me how to filter things that only have an offensive effect on my soul and my view of the world. Sometimes listening to gossips and rumors only have me make a wrong judgment, depriving me of my chance to form healthy relationships with others.

Earplugs keep me filter noise and allow me to focus on the bright side of things. I don’t shut my ears to everything I don’t want to hear. I just do so when I know for sure the noise that hurts my mind and soul. In such a moment, I wear my earplugs turn off and try to find the peace of mind. I let everything get aside and wait. When I let go, I meet my true self, and we shake hands.


*picture credit to Hyunsoo Nam*

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Memoir 2nd draft

In the Forest of Canada Visiting my grandparents who immigrated to Montreal, Canada, I was given chances to explore countless charms that this amazing country had to offer. I remember, in the summer, 2013, my sister and I were sent off to a camp with a card named Young Passenger Traveling Alone (YPTA) against our will. Being terrified by the idea of spending an entire month away from my beloved family and without all the things that sustained my quality life, I remember imploring my parents not to send me there up until the very moment I was cold-heartedly dropped off at the campsite. I remember I was frightened at the new environment. When finally, I realized there was nothing I could do, I inhaled like I would suck up all the oxygen in the atmosphere and let out a sigh deep enough to reach down to the core of the Earth. Not to be seen nor to be treated like a wimpy little weakling by my younger sister who faced the same fate, I told myself to toughen up, wake up, and be a bi...
1 comment
Read more

About Me

I am Seoyeon Kim, also known as Summer. My name, Summer, is the first English name I got since I was born. I think my name is quite unique and it represents me the best, so I included this name in my blog title, too. The name Summer Passion  simply means passion of mine. I also think Summer is the most passionate season of the year, since the sun is the hottest, the plants are the greenest, and people come out and enjoy the weather in Summer. I hope to live a passionate life like Summer , and live doing what I enjoy. Although I am an international student, I had, and also have quite a difficult time on English since I have never lived abroad. I was completely a Korean student, and I never have thought of going abroad at all, never before I came to KMLA. Even though it is uncomfortable for me to speak and write in English, I look forward to the oversea life and also want to grow my English skills before in KMLA. I have two siblings, one 2 years younger than me, and the other ...
1 comment
Read more

Memoir 1st draft

I remember... - 180206 inclass work Write anything you want, but follow this one simple rule: Every sentence MUST begin with "I remember..." Consider style, sentence structure (length, use of commas and semicolons), flow and content I remember the day my baby brother came back home from the hospital after he was born. I remember him crying and peeing on my clothes, but I still love him. I remember hitting my younger sister's head with a toy when we were both young. I remember that my sister had a hard time breathing and that I was scolded and locked in the bathroom for a while. I remember the incident so well and will never forget it even though it happened when I was only 3 years old because it was quite a shock to me. I remember having two hamsters. I remember that one hamster bit the other to death; I'm not able to raise a hamster after that. * I remember going to a Summer camp deep in the forest of Canada. I remember being bitten by a mosquito as big ...
1 comment
Read more