It was news that electrified the entertainment industry. It was records broken worldwide. It was music that became legendary.
The formation of a new girl group that captured the hearts of the nation and sent shock waves across the globe - the formi...
It was a strange feeling when I first arrived at YSJ Academy.
New people, new surroundings, nothing was quite the same as before. In itself, it gave me a new life. And yet rather than the trepidation I was expected to feel, I was left with nothing but sheer excitement at the thought of something new. At the prospect of my life moving forward and the hope of one day becoming an idol.
It was everything I'd ever wished for.
Arriving late last night from Bangkok, I unpacked my bags still tired from the flight. I hung up kpop posters and placed my clothes neatly in the closet, put on fresh bedding, sorted my toiletries, laptop, books and CDs with a few photos of friends and family scattered around to remind me of home.
Upon the small desk in the corner of the room, I placed my most cherished possession. It was my diary which I wrote in each night without fail, a recollection of my innermost thoughts and feelings.
After falling asleep from exhaustion that night, I'd awoken somewhat startled by the nearby alarm clock at 7am. I'd barely had time to read the academy prospectus last night and knew little about the expectations of my first day.
All I knew was that YSJ Academy was the most prestigious music college in Seoul after the merging of collaborations by YG, SM and JYP talent agencies. It was the most famous Kpop training academy in the world and all my idols had trained here at one time or another. To think that I'd been accepted here a little late in the academic year was incredible. It was such a privilege to be given the opportunity to walk the same corridors as pop royalty.
I'd spent much of the evening unpacking and reorganising my small dorm room to my liking with little thought to the practicality of needing to know the whereabouts of my classes. As I rushed to get ready and grabbed my phone and backpack, I quickly glanced in the mirror breathing a soft sigh as I prepared myself for the day.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Dashing out of the door, I made my way along the dorm corridor and outside to the center courtyard. The campus was much more stunning in daylight. Numerous grey stone buildings were attached with covered walkways, an abundance of greenary surrounding the acres of land, seating pavilions and wildflowers dotted across the grounds and a fountain that lay at its heart.
It was surprisingly quiet for a Monday morning as the large clock from one of the nearby department buildings chimed at 8am. I began to panic realising that the reason it was quiet was likely due to the fact that classes had already started meaning only one thing... I was late.
Running into one of the many buildings, I sprinted through the hallways looking frantically for a sign of familiarity from my arrival last night. Of course there were none. Just when all seemed lost, I heard a gentle, soulful melody from a nearby room. The door was slightly ajar as the notes from the piano weaved poetically through the air.
