To My 9 Years old Self

Dear EunSung,

I know everything is new right now.  You and your family just moved from South Korea to Asheville, NC.  I know you feel a little bit overwhelmed, and everything is new.  Remember to not take things personally, when well meaning folks talk down to you because you have a foreign name.  Be patient with your teachers when they stick you in a closet with a Mircofiche machine half the time at school, instead of letting you just be immersed with the other kids.  You and your family moved to an area at a time when ESL did not exist.

More than anything, little EunSung, be patient with yourself.  I know you’re a very sensitive child, and it will be hard for you to find ways to express yourself.  Be patient with your mom, dad and brother; it will be stressful to all of you as you adjust to a new culture and a new language.

And the most important of all, there’s a God out there that you’ve not experienced yet that loves you for you.  A God that does not judge you, even when human beings fail to live up to the standards of this love.  God loves you, even when white rural churches in NC could not totally accept and love you and your family.  Don’t loose heart.  God loves you for all of you, even you being Korean immigrant in a strange place, and eventually your family will choose American names to assimilate due to fear of being singled out and made an other.

Your journey will be sad at times, but all of it precious in the eyes of your Higher Power.  All of your pains and joys will eventually be used to serve God and help others.  But for now, you’re only 9.  Enjoy each day and have fun.

Love,

Your Jaded Older Self

 

PS–Your beloved Cubs win the World Series in 2016.  You fell in love with the Cubs when you watched them play at Wrigley Field on WGN, as a immigrant boy in the States trying to fit in.  What’s more American than baseball?  The Cubs had you by the 7th inning stretch, when Harry Carray sang “Take me Out to the Ballgame.”  Enjoy all of it little EunSung.