Ch5 Oral History
first draft
201101068 Chaihyeon Nah
My Celebrity Friend
We have fantasy about the celebrities— their luxury lifestyle, the parties, and their fancy appearances. Maybe this is the reason why sales of the magazines and the newspapers gossiping about the stars are so high. I, like other people, also was very curious about their lives and always somewhat admired it. They seemed very different from rest of the people.
So, when I first hear about my friend becoming a singer, I was more than surprised. She was a normal student in the french department, here at HUFS(Hankuk University of Foreign Studies). I often hang out with her, eating lunch or chatting about the boys. But one day, she told me that she had made up her mind to become a singer, that her debut album will be released in four months. I really wanted to talk with her about this decision but she had no time to meet me and six months have passed since her debut stage, now.
I met her at a cafe near HUFS, where we used to go together half a year ago. She was as cheerful as before but she has lost so much weight that I realized once again that she is a celebrity now—she looks just like the other stars from the television; so thin and white.
"Thank you for your time, I know you are a busy person." said I.
"Oh, it is indeed, your honor to meet me since I am a busy star!" She replied teasingly and added,
"My team is preparing for our next album, <Fiesta> following month, but I wanted to come back to school, you know".
She said her life is really different now comparing her past life as a university student. But she likes her current life more. Back then, she was not sure about her future, and she did not even liked her major, French.
"I was not planning to become a singer, but a chance came to me. I was walking in the street with my friends chattering, and a man came to me asked if I wanted to become a star. He gave me his name card. He was the head master of our company, Star Factory."
I remember she enjoyed dancing when she was a student. She was in a dancing club. She was more like a student who endeavored herself into the club more than her studies from class. But everyone has their hobby and that you cannot just become a singer because you like to dance more than to study. So I asked her about her parents objection about her debut as a star. After all, she was a good student at HUFS and many parents do not want their child to become a celebrity because they know that it is more rusty than its shining look in reality. After thinking a few seconds my friend replied in an uncertain voice,
"Of course, my parents did not like my idea quitting the school and trying to succeed in this area. They thought it would be harder to succeed in this way. I think they are right in some way, but anyway I was the one who should decide about my life. And obviously, I won."
"Do you have any regrets about your decision?" I asked.
"Well yes, I guess I have some. I think I might have more peaceful life if I stayed at school and graduate like other students. I might work at a company, and marry a normal man, I guess. But I try not to think about it because if I start to think about the regrets, I can hardly do my practice. The thought kills me."
From her tone of the voice, and facial expression, I notice that she had thought about her decision for a long time. I also noticed she was somewhat grown up since our last meeting almost a year ago. I sincerely hoped my friend a bright future as a singer. I want to see her succeed by doing what she wanted to do, but following the others way of success. I wished her a good luck and we said goodbye.
1. I totally understand what you said that the stars "seemed very different from rest of the people." So it was really interesting to read your essay.
ReplyDelete2. "I want to see her succeed by doing what she wanted to do, but following the others way of success. " This sentence was confusing to me because it seemed not so clear that you want her to succeed by her own way, or by following others' way.
3. I think your thesis statement is that one of your friends became a star taking risk of failure and difficulties.
4. "Of course, my parents did not like my idea quitting the school and trying to succeed in this area. They thought it would be harder to succeed in this way. I think they are right in some way, but anyway I was the one who should decide about my life"
5. I feel that there are the right number of quotations because I could easily guess your friend's character and her thoughts from the quotations.
6. Maybe you could add some conclusion about the interview, like your feelings after the interview.
1. At first, I was interested in your story. As you wrote, people are so curious about the life of celebrities. So your interviewee is good for making readers interested. I could find her on the internet. Wow.
ReplyDelete2. nothing special.
3. Your thesis statement would be that one of your friends decided to be a famous singer giving up her average life.
4. "Well yes, I guess I have some. I think I might have more peaceful life if I stayed at school and graduate like other students. I might work at a company, and marry a normal man, I guess. But I try not to think about it because if I start to think about the regrets, I can hardly do my practice. The thought kills me."
I thought this quotation is effective because it shows her anguish frankly. Because being a singer was not her life-long dream, she might have some regrets for giving up her chance to live normal. I could solve my curiosity about her choice with this quotation.
5. I think the number of quotations is moderate.
6. Your overall writing comes interesting to me, but it would be better if you add a specific episode about her life. It could be a story of difficulty in living as a celebrity, or joy in her career, etc. I mean specific story could make your writing more interesting.
Ch5 Oral History
ReplyDeleteFinal draft
201101068 Chaihyeon Nah
My Celebrity Friend
People have fantasies about celebrities—their luxury lifestyle, parties, and their fancy appearances. This has been proven with the high sales of the magazines and the newspapers gossiping about the stars. Like most people, I am also very curious about celebrities’ lives and always somewhat admired them. They seemed to live in the different world from most of us.
So, it is not hard to guess my feelings when I first heard about my friend becoming a star. She was a normal student in the French department, here at HUFS (Hankuk University of Foreign Studies). I often hung out with her, eating lunch or chatting about boys. And one day, she sent me a text message telling she is joining a group called Bikini, and that her debut album will be released soon. She just sent me that message and we couldn’t meet nor could chat about this enormous decision she had made. My friend was too busy preparing her debut stage. Six months have passed since then.
I met her at a café near HUFS, where we used to go together half a year ago. She was as cheerful as before but she had lost so much weight that I realized once again that my friend is a celebrity now—she looked just like the other singers from television; so thin and white.
“Thank you for your time, I know you are really busy”, said I.
“It is, indeed, your pleasure to meet me! I am a celebrity now.” She replied teasingly and added,
“My team is preparing for our next album, . I am so busy these days. But you know, I just wanted to come back to school and chat with you just like the old days”.
She took a sip of my coffee and frowned complaining that it is too sweet and I might gain weight by drinking a cup full of this. I watched my friend drinking water instead of coffee. She was balancing the calories since her come back stage was in two weeks. Her tone of the voice and her cute smile were all same like before but she looked somewhat different. I asked her about her new life as a star
“Oh, I know many people assume my life like that of a princess in the castle—in fact, it is absolutely the opposite. My life is more like a maidservant’s. I wake up at seven o’clock every day, go to the regular practices if I have no other schedules. That’s all. I go to clinics occasionally for face massage and care but mostly, practice is all I do.”
She seemed like enjoying her life as a celebrity more than her life as a normal university student. She said she has more firm goals now. And practicing hard to achieve those goals makes her feel better about herself. When we were both students, I remember my friend always concerned about her future. She was not sure about what she wanted to do after graduation. She didn’t even like her major, French. She was more kind of a person who endeavored herself into the club activities. She was in a dancing club at HUFS and spent most of the time dancing.
But dancing was her hobby. We all have hobbies. One can’t just simply become a dancer because he or she likes dancing more than studying. After chattering about some gossips of other celebrities, I asked her what was her sacrifice for being a singer. She thought for a few seconds, and my friend replied in an uncertain voice.
ReplyDelete“It wasn’t an easy decision. I know we can’t live by doing only those things we want to do. I’ve made many sacrifices…” she hesitated.
“When you hear my team name, Bikini, what is the first thing that pops up in your mind?”
I could not say a word nor could I look into my friend’s eye.
“I know what you are thinking. My parents were also furious when they first heard my team name. They didn’t like the idea me becoming a star in the first place. They thought it was too dangerous in many ways for a young girl like me to become a singer. They also worried about my failure, and other’s insults toward me”, she continued with a sigh.
“Sometimes I do think my parents were right. It is harder to succeed in this way. Maybe I should have listened to them, and studied harder”.
“You mean you regret your decision debuting as a singer?” I asked, trying not to sound too serious. I didn’t want to hurt my friend’s feeling.
“Yes, sometimes I regret my decision. Just look at me, Chaihyeon. I can’t even drink a cup of coffee without the permission of my company.” She smiled bitterly and added with lightened voice,
“But you know what? I think we all have regrets about our decisions. Some regrets are big and some are small. My regret is big right now but I might have had even bigger regret if I didn’t try this…you know, this celebrity life.”
I looked at my friend. She smiled at me. I realized that my friend had grown up through this whole process; deciding to become a singer and fighting against the fear and regrets. We all have “true” dreams, things we really want to do. But we don’t have enough courage to do what we want to do. So instead, we do what we can do. My friend is trying something different. She knew she could be a normal student studying hard to get a job after graduation. That would be a safer way to live her life; however, at the same time, she knew that was not her true dream. She decided to be brave.
After the short interview with my friend, I felt like she gave me a lesson. She made me to think about myself, my dreams, and my future. Frankly speaking, before the interview, I was just curious about her celebrity life. I wanted to meet her and chat with her about her new clothes, and new celebrity friends. But now, I thank my friend for sharing her story and giving me some courage to go after my true dreams. With all my heart, I wished my friend to succeed as a singer. Her success would be a triumph not only for herself, but also for many people who try hard to achieve their real goals.