I knew what I wanted to do by myself.
There are so many people who aren’t aware of what they want to do. I was also one of them. However, there had to be a field where I could be interested in my surroundings. I found the field while going to school. I took more of an interest in biology than agriculture and was decisively led to microbiology by a professor. Although microbiology is bookish, the professor’s effort and passion to lecture were shown to me. Also, his attitude to appreciate students attracted me to microbiology. For this reason, I understood what I wanted to do.
If you know so much, you can be aware of what you don’t know.
How much I know is useless. The most important thing is that I know what I don’t know. I want to be really aware of what I don’t know. Therefore, I entered into Seoul University’s Graduate School of Public Health to study microbiology. As time went by, I was filled with the parts of what I didn’t know, and I realized what I really didn’t know. It was a virus. The virus, which antibiotics can’t cure, became an obstacle for me to jump over them.
An obstacle made by myself is a real obstacle.
Life can be compared to a hurdle race. There are some who jump over obstacles made by other people. They find only better schools and better jobs, and they live by stages. However, they just jump over obstacles without purpose. On the other hand, there are others who make obstacles by themselves. By having goal, they make obstacles and jump over them constantly. I was the other. Making obstacles somewhere and jumping over them, I could be who I am now.
What is success?
When I was a high school student, I read the book, “What is Success?” The book had an episode where a woman had crossed the Strait of Dover. Her goal was just to cross the Strait of Dover. Doing her best for setting the goal, she succeeded finally. Even if she had failed to cross, I think her challenge was a success. It is a real success to do your best and set goals by yourself. What I achieve is not important. I hoped to share my outlook on life with students.