Precious Moments

For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven:

a time to be born and a time to die;

a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted;

a time to kill and a time to heal;

a time to break down and a time to build up;

a time to weep and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn and a time to dance;

a time to throw away stones and a time to gather stones together;

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing;

a time to seek and a time to lose;

a time to keep and a time to throw away;

a time to tear and a time to sew;

a time to keep silent and a time to speak;

a time to love and a time to hate;

a time for war and a time for peace.

—Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 NRSVUE

I've been thinking a lot about what I'm good at, about what I have to offer or teach, and honestly, I can't think of very much. But what I am good at is knowing when "the good times" are. Usually, they're right now. In fact, they can always be right now. Each season is different, each has its own pros and cons. Naturally, if you only focus on the cons, you will never be content where you are. But if you focus on the pros, you can appreciate the unique joys and quirks of each season of your life, knowing that you will never live through that same season ever again.

When you're young, you don't have a strong grasp of the concept of time or mortality. On some subconscious level, you think that you're an invincible immortal, or at least that death and disease are far far away. However, over time, the limits of your life and body slowly enter your consciousness. Sometimes, this results in fear and anxiety. For me, the result is perspective and gratitude.

It's the end of the semester, and many of the students are not returning in the spring. The school is taking a break in 2026, so several students are making other plans in advance to prepare for the break, including graduating early, choosing to self-study at home, or transferring to another school. I only found this out a couple of weeks ago, and I've been trying to savor my time with the students even more since I discovered that some of them will be leaving me first instead of me leaving them. I've barely known these kids for two months and I already miss them. They're just so smart, talented, bright, beautiful, happy, and healthy—I can't help but 이뻐해 ("adore"—not the best translation, but the closest) them! What precious time we have has only become more precious, and I'm strongly aware that the present is even more fleeting with them as they literally change every day at this age. Each day, they grow taller, their voices get a little deeper, they learn a bit more about the suffering and joy that takes place on their planet, their acne gets worse or improves, and little by little, they discover who they are.

I've started saying corny things like "You give me hope for the world," and "The next time I see you, you'll probably be driving and getting married!" I try my best just to say it to myself and not out loud, though, since there's nothing teenagers hate more than cheesiness. But it's true! Time really flies 😭😭

I'm not a parent yet, but being a teacher is giving me glimpse into the dual sense of fulfillment and heartbreak at seeing children grow up, learn how to take care of themselves, and fly out of the nest. The only thing I care about these days is seeing them thrive!

I guess this is how my parents feel about me 😅...and God... thank you 🙏🙏

And now, a few of those precious moments:

We went to Haenam, the neighboring city, to watch a ballet adaptation of Les Misérables, and I cried the whole time. I cried especially hard during the scene where all of the young revolutionaries get shot. I was imagining my students fighting for freedom and justice like that, since those are the kinds of spirits they have. They were around the same age, too. I thought about how I didn't want them to have to struggle and suffer like that and how I wanted to fight for change so they wouldn't have to. But afterwards, the students blasted music from their little speaker and had a karaoke session the whole way home. Everyone was singing, even the quietest kid, and I couldn't help but smile as we drove along in our cozy 12-passenger van.
똥 싸야 돼 — throwback to this music video by BgA (Boys Generally Asian) aka YouTuber nigahiga.
"똥 싸야 돼" means "I have to go number two." One of the first questions I got this semester was how to say "똥 싸야 돼" in English. Afterwards, I noticed how often my students talked about having to go poop. I told them that we usually don't specify what we are going to leave behind in the bathroom—just that we are going to the bathroom. However, I told them that teachers might ask elementary-school age children whether they have to go number one or number two to determine the urgency of their request to leave the classroom. While I appreciate the lack of shame about going number two, I've realized that I prefer not to think about poop unless necessary.

Getting breaking new updates from the head of our current events team. "Teacher, have you seen my new article yet?" he will ask after pinning up his latest article on the bulletin board. I try to read it, but it's always way above my comprehension level. So he tries to break it down for me in simple Korean, accompanied by Papago (Korean-English translation app). It's still a struggle. 😅 I've started taking his old articles and studying them for homework so I can have a more substantial discussion with him, but it's hard to keep up! On the bright side, I've learned how to say "quantum computer," "ballistic missile," and "martial law" in Korean.
Riding bikes with the students along the bay while the seniors take the college entrance exam
Discussing literature and philosophy with my seniors 📚
Admiring the awesome monthly calendars made by our students

December calendar 🤯
Making fortune tellers with my middle schoolers and hearing them all ask the same question: "Will I get a beautiful girlfriend?"
Listening to the girls in the hallway try to see how high they can sing while the boys belt ballads from the floor below us 🎶
Coordinating a pen pal program between Neutbom and a school back in Minnesota 📝

Students opening their newly arrived letters from Minnesota 💌
Watching the boys get on their knees to beg the teachers to let them play basketball even though they haven't finished their homework yet 🏀
Seeing my students run to hug each other 💖
Explaining what a drag queen was after some of my students' watched a performance of the musical Kinky Boots over the weekend
Choreographing a dance to "Walking in a Winter Wonderland" since some of the girls decided to join me as backup singers and dancers for the end of semester show