Love

  • 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…

    The meaning of life
  • 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…

    Healing?
  • 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…

    A meaningful day
  • 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…

    All the things we can’t explain
  • 49 days

    Yesterday marked the 49th day following the passing of my best friend. In Korea, this day is usually marked by a memorial service, which has its roots in Buddhist tradition and is widely practiced across religions all over the country. I attended this memorial for my friend at his resting place yesterday together with his…

    49 days
  • Grieving

    For the past several years I’ve been using Korean in happy situations, boring situations, professional situations, mundane everyday situations, medical or academic situations. But never for anything as tragic as grief… Until now. Except “I feel a bit down today”, my active Korean ‘sad emotional vocabulary’ was limited to what I knew from dramas and…

    Grieving
  • The blog post I never wanted to write

    My heart has been shattered into a million pieces. My soul is broken. My body feels like an empty shell. The night before yesterday I received the most dreaded message ever. “Sofie, G has gone to heaven. Promise you’ll never forget him.” My best friend is no longer here and it seems like the world…

    The blog post I never wanted to write