The longer a ship sails through the ocean, the more barnacles accumulate on its hull. Soon it gets weighed down and becomes more difficult to maneuver, its very safety threatened. The only way to fix the problem is to drop anchor in clear water and scrape the barnacles off its sides. Once those heavy shells have been removed, the boat can go on its way, advancing through the waters more easily, now that the extra weight has been removed. What do you think of when you read this story? For me, it means that we have to prevent our past memories and experiences from obstructing our way forward.

 Not long ago, I watched a popular TV drama of recent times, Cinderella’s Sister. In the drama, one of the main characters, Song Eun-jo, played by Korean actress Moon Geun-young, has painful wounds since she had repeatedly lived with her many stepfathers and run away from them. Moreover she was tired of seeing her mother who met her stepfathers for money. So, she treats the people around her coldly and seldom expresses affection to them. There are so many people who have wound up in a similar situation. They go through their parents’ divorce, suddenly break up with their lover or get betrayed by a friend, and then they fence off the world by building walls around themselves. As a result, they miss out on many of the important things in life. Your memories and past experiences ought to help you build a better life not prevent you from enjoying it.

 But remembering bad past experiences won’t necessarily prevent you from reaching your goals. Sometimes they can help us learn, it can be good to cling to our mistakes. A story in a book written by Korean author Lee Oi-soo, illustrates this point quite well. Suppose you tripped over a stone and then later you trip over the same stone once again. How can you blame the jagged stone? Everyone makes mistakes. It is important to know that you can learn from them. And then, you should try not to repeat the same mistake again. This is why we cannot blame the stone that made you trip and fall down.

 I often obsessed over my past; I was strongly distressed by my regrets. As time went by, however, I realized an important fact; I cannot change the past, what’s done is done, and irretrievable. Now I am willing to rise above those burdens that I have collected over the years. How about you? This semester is about to end, summer vacation, and a new start, is just a few weeks away. You may have had a few problems this semester, maybe even a few bad experiences. But whatever they were, do not be shackled by them. Learn from them; use them to grow and build a radiant future.

By Lim Seon-hye, Head Student Editor
#294 Desk Column