Yu Na Kim won the gold medal last night!!!!!! In Korea, Yu Na is like a superstar since she is the first figure skater from our country who won all kinds of international competitions. She is the most famous and popular athelete in Korea, and everyone just love her.  Since she was doing so well, there were lots of pressure put on to her on the Olympics. People really believed that she will win the gold medal, and she knew that. When she recieved 150.06 in her free skating, everyone just screamed. In Korea, when Yu Na was skating, a program rating on tv was 41% which is really high. I heard that everyone just screamed in the joy, and some people even played music outside to celebrate her victory.

After watching a ceremony of awarding prizes, I looked back at myself. Yu Na is only 19 years old like me, but she represents our country. We see how beautiful she is on the ice, but she would have fallen thousands of times  to make it perfect. She didn’t just get her skill out of nowhere, but she actually tried hard when nobody sees.  She fought herself, and won. For me, it is always the most difficult to fight against myself. I want to rest, make myself comfortable, and just give up when I encounter difficulty. By looking at Yu Na, I see how hard I have to push myself away from the comfort zone in order to gain something. I can’t forget her tears and smile. She could really smile because she tried her best.

I look back at my day, and every single moment that I shared with my loved ones makes me smile.

 This book was written by Japanese writter Ichikawa Dakuji, and made into the movie and drama in Japan. I read the book last summer and watched the movie this winter. In the book, readers get introduced to Mio,  Dakumi, and Yuji. Mio and Dakumi liked each other since they were in highschool, and got married few years after they graduated highschool. They lived happily together with their son Yuji until  Mio died when her son became 7 years old. When she died, she told Dakumi that she is going to return during the raining season (Which is between Spring and Summer, about 6 weeks long) to see if Dakumi and Yuji are living well. After one year, when it became the raining season, she really returns. However, she doesn’t remember anything. She doesn’t even know who she is and the fact that she actually died. Dakumi and Yuji, who know she actually died a year ago, pretend she never died, and tell her that she is not very healthy that she lost her memory. Mio, who was gone for a year returned, and they live together like before for 6 weeks. During that 6 weeks, Mio and Dakumi fall in love once again. At the end of 6 weeks, when the rain stops and sun shines, Mio leaves her husband and her son again.

This is not the end of the book. At the end, Mio leaves the letter to Dakumi, and that letter reveals many things. Mio, who returned during the raining season after she died, was Mio from the past.  When she was 21 years old, Dakumi tried to leave her due to his illness. Mio, who didn’t know Dakumi was sick, thought he didn’t love her anymore that she also tried to finish the relationship. One day, she got involved in the car accident, and when she opened her eyes, she was in the future. She jumped 8 years ahead, and there, she met her son Yuji, and her husband, Dakumi. She didn’t really know what was going on in the beginning that she actually believed what Dakumi told her. (He told her that she lost her memory due to her illness) However, while she was cleaning the house, she found the diary that she wrote when she was alive. And from reading the diary, she realize that she died a year ago. After that 6 weeks, when she returned to the present, where she is 21 years old, she then knows that she is going to die when she become 28 years old. She still chooses to marry Dakumi, and to raise Yuji even though she knows she is going to die early if she chooses to do so.

I really like the story because the story is told from two different perspectives  that I get to understand and imagine each scene better. Also, this story really focuses on the relationship and illustrates how the relationship progresses very slowly that I get to read and feel how characters feel in very detailed way.

One day,  I was standing in the long line in cafeteria to get something for lunch. While I was waiting,  the boy who was standing at the back  started to talk to me. He knew my name, and he talked as we knew each other. However, I didn’t recongnize him and couldn’t figure out who he was until he showed me a picture.  He was a friend who I used to have class with when I was in grade 9. I didn’t recognize him because his outlook changed so much. He became disabled.

 I was very shocked. I just heard from a teacher that  he couldn’t come to class since he was in hospital. I didn’t know how serious it was. Later, when she visited him in the hospital, she said ‘Justin is not Justin who we used to anymore.’ However, I still had no idea how he was doing back then.

When I saw him almost in 2 years, he changed so much. His arms which used to play violin were twisted,  he couldn’t walk well and he couldn’t talk fast enough.  He found using daily things that we use without any problem hard to use.  When I saw him struggle opening the water bottle, I suddenly wanted to design products  that Justin can use without problem. It was so strong that I really wanted to become an indutrial designer who can help people with disablities by design products that they can use easily.