Chapter 3
I have a small secret box in my drawer. I keep my precious memory in it such as pictures, souvenir, and letters. Sometimes, I open the box and look through them if everything is right in there, if nothing is missing. Then, there is one thing that catches my eyes all the time and forces me to take it out. It is a letter that I received in my old high school days. Whenever I read the letter, I become a high school girl and think of him who wrote it to me.
"Hey, do you want some cookies?" I was going to the bathroom after the English class when someone called me in the corridor. I looked back to find a boy who was handing some cookies to me. He was quite tall that I had to look up at him. His brownish hair was disheveled and his cheeks were flushing crimson as if he ran from far away. His big black eyes were straightly looking at me. He looked nervous but serious. He had a blue name tag, which meant that he was in the second grade, one year younger than me. "No, thanks." I could only say this and get out of there because there were some other students who started giggling and whispering to each other, looking at us.
I thought this would be the first and last meeting with him in my life. Yet, to my surprise, I found him again in a very short time. As a senior, I had applied for the afterschool activity that the school organized to make a lasting bond between senior and junior. He also applied for this program and became one of my mentees. "Oh, but you…" I was really embarrassed when I saw him again. He, too, had a puzzled look on his face and only the silence filled the classroom for a few minutes. From then, we met twice a month and began to know each other. He told me his worries about the future, especially what kind of job he should choose for his entire life. He liked to sing and wanted to be a singer. However he was not confident about his talent and afraid of failure. I could not do anything but just listen to him and give him some words of comfort.
At the end of the semester, he told me about his family for the first time. "My mother died when I was an elementary school student. It was at the last night of school trip that I got a call from my grandmother. I felt a groundless fear. I can remember that until now. My grandma's voice was trembling. She said my mother's dead. But I could not believe it…" He said this in a calm voice, rather lightly but I could feel how much he suffered from that incident. On the one hand I felt sorry for him, on the other hand I was glad because it seemed that he opened his mind and began to trust me.
The afterschool program ended as the winter semester was over. He and I also had to say goodbye. On the last day, he gave me 'the letter' that I still have in my drawer. I read the letter when I came back home. It said that he was so thankful of my mentoring and that it helped me a lot. Also, as he knew that I wanted to become a teacher, he wished me luck and said that I would become a really great teacher in the future. Throughout the whole program, I was ashamed of myself being not helpful. The only thing that I did was merely listening to him. Yet the letter was telling me that I was doing right. What I could realize from this was attentive listening is a vital attitude that teacher should maintain to gain students' heart. I put the letter in my secret box.
I open my secret box from time to time. The letter is always there on top of everything. I read it and think of him. That really is a precious memory.
YongSun Hwang
ReplyDelete1. He’s a school student with brownish hair and big black eyes, and he wants to be a singer but not sure about talent.
2. -His brownish hair was disheveled and his cheeks were flushing crimson as if he ran from far away.
-His big black eyes were straightly looking at me.
-He had a blue name tag, which meant that he was in the second grade, one year younger than me.
-He liked to sing and wanted to be a singer. However he was not confident about his talent and afraid of failure.
3. # what the person looks like – (*) His brownish hair was disheveled and his cheeks were flushing crimson as if he ran from far away / His big black eyes were straightly looking at me.
# what the person says – (*) "Hey, do you want some cookies?"
# what the person does – (*) He also applied for this program / He had a blue name tag, which meant that he was in the second grade, one year younger than me.
# what other people say about the person – (x)
4. You said that you gave him some words for comfort. What did you say?
5. She got a letter from the person and opened her secret box from time to time. The letter is always there on top of everything.
6. Do you still want to be a singer? / if not, what do you want to do? And if you still want to be a singer, what do you do to become a singer?
This person was awkward but precious to Haegyung.
ReplyDeleteHe gave her “the letter” and she keeps it in her secret box.
He opened his mind and began to trust her.
He was thankful for her mentoring.
He looked very tall, brownish hair, and his cheeks were flushing.
He also had a blue name tag.
I believe this person is very truthful and has a warm heart.
What is his name?
Chapter 3 Final Draft
ReplyDeleteI have a secret box in my drawer. It is a hexagonal, volleyball-sized case painted red and yellowish brown. In there, I keep my precious memory such as pictures, souvenir, and letters. Once in a while, I open the box and look through them to see if everything is right in there, if nothing is missing. Then, there is one thing that catches my eyes all the time and forces me to take it out. It is a letter that I received in my old high school days. Whenever I read the letter, I become a high school girl and think of him who wrote it to me.
The memory starts with the first day I met him. It was one fall day after the English class ended. I was going to the bathroom during the break when someone called me in the corridor. “Hey, do you want some cookies?” I looked back to find a boy who was handing some cookies to me. He was quite tall that I had to look up at him. His brownish hair was disheveled and his cheeks were flushing crimson as if he ran from far away. His big black eyes were straightly looking at me. He looked nervous but serious. He had a blue name tag, which meant that he was in the second grade, one year younger than me. “No, thanks.” I could only say this and get out of there because there were some other students who started giggling and whispering to each other, looking at us.
I thought this would be the first and last meeting with him in my life. Yet, to my surprise, I found him again in a very short time. As a senior, I had applied for the afterschool activity that the school organized to make a lasting bond between senior and junior. He also applied for this program and became one of my mentees. “Oh, but you…” I was really embarrassed when I saw him again. He, too, had a puzzled look on his face and only the silence filled the classroom for a few minutes. From then, we met twice a month and began to know each other. At first I thought he was a troublemaker because of what I heard from the teacher taking charge of the activity. “He has a poor attitude in class,” said she. “He always takes a nap. One of his close friends is removed from school due to school violence problem. So if he turns on you in anger by any chance, don’t try to fight against him but tell me. Okay?” It was pretty threatening to me to counsel such kind of student. Indeed, he looked wild with harsh languages. However, as time goes on, I could find the warmth inside him.
He looked strong outwardly but weak at heart and he knew it. That was why he tried to look wilder to others in order not to be ignored by anyone. He told me his worries about the future, especially what kind of job he should choose for his entire life. He liked to sing and wanted to be a singer. However he was not confident of his talent and was afraid of failure. Looking at his weaknesses, I felt myself useless. All I could do was just listen to him and give him some words of comfort: “You’re doing well. Some people don’t even know what they want to do. But you have your dream. You just need to believe yourself. Don’t be afraid of failure.”
At the end of the semester, he told me about his family for the first time. “My mother died when I was an elementary school student. It was at the last night of school trip that I got a call from my grandmother. I felt a groundless fear. I can remember that until now. My grandma’s voice was trembling. She said my mother’s dead. But I could not believe it…” He said this in a calm rather light voice but I could feel how much he suffered from that incident. On the one hand I felt sorry for him, on the other hand I was glad because it seemed that he opened his mind and began to trust me.
ReplyDeleteThe afterschool program ended as the winter semester was over. He and I also had to say goodbye. On the last day, he gave me ‘the letter’ that I still have in my drawer. I read the letter when I came back home. It said that he was so thankful of my mentoring and that it helped him a lot. Also, as he knew that I wanted to become a teacher, he wished me luck and said that I would become a really great teacher in the future. Throughout the whole program, I was ashamed of myself being not helpful. The only thing that I did was merely listening to him. Yet the letter was telling me that I was doing right. What I could realize from this was attentive listening is a vital attitude that teacher should maintain to gain students’ heart. I put the letter in my secret box.
I do not know how he became after I graduated from high school. We did keep in touch one another for about three months. Then I lost contact with him. Yet I believe he is doing alright in somewhere and break for his dream like I am now. I open my secret box from time to time. The letter is always there on top of everything. I read it and think of him. That really is a precious memory that I will never forget.