Story of Self
Friendship has always been of the utmost importance to me because of my upbringing. When I immigrated from Korea into sunny Los Angeles at the age of six, I knew minimal English. Fortunately, two students within my kindergarten class were on the same boat, and we just happened to sit next to each other. We immediately kicked it off because we recognized we were unlike the rest of our peers, and eventually became the best of friends. What I will never fully appreciate is just how much of a support cushion they have been for me. We are more like brothers, and I would not be the same happy-go-lucky person I am today without them.
My biggest hope coming into Harvard was to find the same bonds I had with them - or at least something similar. As a first-year, I was overwhelmed, yet appreciative of the enthusiasm others had to meet and get to know each other. However, the COVID-19 pandemic cut my year short just when I thought I was really starting to find my social circles, and I felt like I was back to square zero when I went back home.
This is why I joined a social organization my junior year coming back: a group predicated on building meaningful relationships. Looking back on my experiences thus far, this was the single-handedly the greatest decision I could have made. I have cherished the intimate and vulnerable environments my social organization fostered so that the entire membership could find what we were looking for: family outside of family. I was eventually elected as the Vice President due to the trust they had in me to not only maintain that same environment for us, but also for all future members.
