"Be someone I can be proud of."
Those were the last words of my mother before she passed away a year ago.
Those are also the words that worries me till this day.
My name is Jenni Kim.
I'm a 19 year old who would rather stay at home and read a good book than go out and party on a Saturday night.
I was born in Busan, Korea with two loving parents and a cute little maltese named Mochi.
When I was only seven, my parents and I moved to Chicago for a chance of a lifetime.
Ever since I was three, I enjoyed drawing and illustrating more than anything else. I would often join art contests and usually won first place. When I was only six, an art director from Chicago, Illinois contacted my parents asking if I wanted a chance to attend the Illinois Institute of Art. Who wouldn't be surprised right? It was such a rare opportunity. My parents, however, declined the offer. I haven't even completed my elementary days. Christopher Martin was his name. He has been the lead director of all arts in that school for 17 years. He has also been awarded many prestigious awards. I was in complete shock.
My parents and I ended up moving up there a year later. Mr. Martin said he would provide my parents a job, an apartment, and everything else we needed until I head off to college. Now that I think about it, it sounded kind of fishy and suspicious. A man would provide a random family from Korea everything just so I can go to college at his school? My parents were desperate, I guess. Life back at home was not necessarily a life worth living. We barely had any food to eat everyday even if both my parents worked double jobs. I didn't really have much of a childhood because I had to help around the house which I didn't mind at all because I wasn't much of a talker to make friends with the other kids.
During the first five years living in Chicago, I was focused on my school work and making drawings for my portfolio. Mr. Martin said to draw or paint something different everyday to build up my experience. That's exactly what I did; I devoted everything. In high school, I met a pretty friend named Persia Abbitt. She's from England but moved to Chicago because her parents got a better job opportunity here. I never knew that I'd ever make a friend but I saw something special in her when she suddenly bursted, "Hello!" one day in Algebra class. She was new at school and ended up being assigned to sit next to me. Our personalities are completely opposite. She was energetic, loud, and cheerful while I was quiet, shy, and introverted. I guess it's really true that opposites attract ☻ After a while, we spent the days learning something different about each other. Her dream is to become a model which won't be too hard considering the fact that she's beautiful; a unique look. Whenever I'm with her, I'm quite embarrassed to be standing next to a model-like person. The people around us seemed to be embarrassed for me too. But I didn't let that get in the way of our friendship. I'm glad I met her. I'm glad I finally got a friend.
