Life lessons
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The meaning of life
This is probably something we all reflect on from time to time. Big questions like why we are here, for how long we are here, and what we are supposed to do while we are here. When your life is turned upside down by the loss of a loved one, these questions become even more…
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Healing?
Many of my readers have been asking me how I’m doing lately. My answer depends on the day and sometimes even on the hour of that day. Sometimes I feel fine, other times completely miserable, and then other times I feel indifferent. However, there’s no doubt that being in Korea has been helpful in my…
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A meaningful day
오늘도 알찬 하루 돼~ oneuldo alchan haru dwae – Have a meaningful day today. This was the content of one of the final texts my best friend sent me only a couple of days before the accident happened. He was also the one who first taught me the meaning of the word 알차다 alchada (meaningful) or 알찬 alchan when…
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All the things we can’t explain
With a background in social science, I’ve spent most of my adult life focusing on the things that can be measured and scientifically proven. I’ve left very little room in my mind for the unexplainable. I was never so arrogant as to say that if you can’t prove something scientifically then it can’t be true. I…
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Gratitude
While Monday was tough for me, I feel that things have been picking up a bit the past couple of days. Since I’m on sabbatical, I’ve got a lot of time on my hands these days for reflection, which can seem overwhelming. Nonetheless, after days of feeling bored and empty, I’ve decided to take matters…
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Missing you…
I miss you, 보고싶다 (bogoshipda), jeg savner dig, tu mi manchi, ich vermisse dich, 会いたい (aitai), tu me manques… No matter which language you say it in, these words are almost as powerful as I love you. After all, if you didn’t love someone would you truly miss them? I just got off the phone with…
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The Korean mindset and locus of control
I’ve often heard Koreans say some version of “되면 하는 거고 말면 말고”, which directly translated means “if things work out we do so and so, and if things don’t work out we just don’t.” I believe that this ‘maybe, maybe not’ mindset to some extent explains why I oftentimes feel that I clash with…
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What I look forward to about leaving Korea
A week ago I booked my flight home, so now it’s official. I’m leaving Korea at the end of next month just 5 days shy of my second anniversary of living in Korea. Living in Korea for two years has been a crazy rollercoaster ride and so are my feelings about leaving. While I still…
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A mind-blowing reading experience
The winter break is soon over and I’ll officially start teaching again next week. These days the Sogang campus is packed with new graduates clad in the traditional cap and gown and their families beaming with pride and even more new freshmen participating in orientation. I’ve spent a lot of time enjoying my beautiful Seoul…
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My morning routine
I once heard someone calling mornings “the rudder of the day”, meaning that how you start your mornings will determine how your day will progress. The morning is the time where you lay out the heading that your day will follow. I’ve found this to be very true, and just like some people say that…
Sofie to Korea 