In this blog post, I will summarize my academic experiences, school activities, examples of consideration, sharing, and cooperation, as well as my career preparation process during my time in high school.
Academic Experiences and Reflections
The Battle with Myself: Making and Sticking to Plans! I wasn’t the type of person who could consistently stick to a plan, even when I made one. Since my memorization and problem-solving skills were better than those of my peers, I managed to maintain relatively good grades through last-minute cramming in the early years of high school. However, by my sophomore year, that approach no longer worked. When my grades plummeted, both my parents and I were flustered, and we wandered aimlessly, unsure of what to do. Amid growing anxiety about college admissions, the turning point that helped me regain my focus came when I looked at my father’s diary. My father was someone who meticulously planned his daily tasks and wouldn’t go to bed until he finished them. Seeing that, I decided I needed to change my lifestyle.
As soon as I made that decision, I bought a large planner, wrote down my tasks, and broke them down into 100-day increments to create a daily schedule. I set a goal to recover my grades within 100 days and tried my best to stick to my plan every day. Over those 100 days, I realized just how difficult it is to consistently complete my daily tasks, even when I was sick, had a lot of homework, or felt anxious about exams. However, I didn’t give up until the very end, and on the mock exam I took 100 days later, I scored higher than before. After that, my grades gradually improved in the final exams as well, and even now, I continue to study by maintaining the habit of making and sticking to daily plans.
Major School Activities and Reflections
Through the History Newspaper Essay Club, I began to reflect on the past and the present I must honestly admit that my initial reason for joining this club was simply to prepare for essay exams and college entrance exams. At the time, I had never deeply considered the meaning of “history” or “newspapers”; my knowledge was limited to the essay writing I had learned at cram schools. Therefore, the club was merely a part of my academic routine. However, as I participated in the club, I gained unexpected insights and inspiration, and developed a level of interest and passion that went beyond my academic studies.
In particular, the influence of my seniors played a major role in my rapid immersion in the club. The seniors in the class immediately above me had clear thoughts and strong convictions, so they never wasted club time. For example, when we debated free school meals—a major social issue at the time—they would research relevant newspaper articles, past domestic cases, and even international examples, then lead the discussion by reading them aloud together. Through this process, I naturally learned to understand the background and context of a topic and organize my thoughts.
Through repeated practice in debate and writing, I developed an interest in social issues, particularly economic ones. I developed a desire to understand how capital moves and the impact of those flows on our society, which led to my dream of majoring in economics. Once I set the goal of studying economics to understand the principles of capital and eventually leading economic activities as an entrepreneur or a member of a company, my academic goals became clear and my motivation unwavering.
As a result, during my junior year, I took on the role of club president, voluntarily taking responsibility for looking after underclassmen and leading discussions. Despite the heavy academic workload at the time, I consistently managed the club and took on practical tasks, such as drafting and submitting proposals to the school administration to strengthen the club’s foundation. This activity gave me a sense of purpose, helped shape my thinking, and became the most meaningful campus activity that allowed me to realize the significance of group activities within the relationships between seniors and juniors.
Writing about examples of consideration, sharing, and cooperation, and my reflections
Hey guys, let’s have fun! Our school places great importance on the sports festival. Since the event is held in a competitive format against neighboring all-boys high schools, the atmosphere is incredibly intense, both in the cheering and the games. As the grade-level cheerleading captain, I did my best to boost the morale of both the athletes and the cheerleading squad. However, during the first match, our team captain—who was our star player—sprained his ankle and couldn’t play. The substitute player wasn’t up to par, and as the score gap widened, the mood sank. The athletes were exhausted, the cheerleaders were drained, and the injured teammate couldn’t even lift his head out of guilt.
Feeling that we couldn’t end the game like this, I changed our chant from “Let’s win!” to “Let’s have fun!” When I first encouraged the cheer squad to shift the mood, their energy revived, and everyone began cheering together in unison. In response, the opposing team spontaneously held a singing contest, and the atmosphere became warm and friendly. We applauded each other’s good plays, and the nature of the competition changed. Although we lost that game, it became an opportunity to share warmth by cheering for and encouraging one another afterward. Through this experience, I learned that even in competition, we can create both consideration and joy together.
Efforts and Preparation Related to Motivation for Application and Career Plans
A son grows up watching his father’s back. My father’s absence and the changes it brought became the catalyst for my career decision and personal growth. When I heard the news that my father would have to stay in the hospital for a long time and found his diary while packing his belongings, I realized anew that he was a man who meticulously recorded everything. Only then did I fully realize how profoundly the care and discipline I had received from my father had shaped me, and I felt overwhelmed by the uncertainty of how I would care for my family and continue my studies without him.
During my father’s absence, I naturally took on the role of maintaining order in the household. I was responsible for daily routines, such as checking my younger siblings’ wake-up and bedtime schedules and preparing breakfast. Since I was a senior in high school, even cutting an hour of sleep in the morning was a huge burden, but I forced myself to get up, knowing that if I didn’t take care of things, my mother would have an even harder time. It wasn’t easy to maintain a stable atmosphere at home so my younger siblings wouldn’t lose focus, but I felt a sense of fulfillment as I saw discipline take root in the household and my siblings settle into a stable routine.
These experiences helped me mature. Watching my father battle his illness deepened my respect for him and taught me how to take responsibility. The process of caring for my family and maintaining my composure during a crisis also influenced my career choice. Expanding my horizons through history and developing an interest in economics through the essay writing club aligned with both my personal curiosity and my motivation to play a role in society. My career plan is to build a solid foundation in economics at university and contribute to society by participating in practical economic activities through corporate work or entrepreneurship.
