In this blog post, I’ll summarize my experiences, focusing on my academic efforts, extracurricular activities, examples of consideration and cooperation, and my career preparation process during high school.
Academic Experiences and Reflections
After entering high school, I made it clear that I wanted to become a fashion designer. While schoolwork was important, I decided I needed to invest more time in the field I truly wanted to pursue, and at one point, I even considered dropping out. Fortunately, after consulting with my homeroom teacher, I found a way to efficiently use my school hours while simultaneously preparing for my career.
Thanks to my teacher’s support, I adjusted my schedule so that I could focus on core subjects during regular class hours and then, after leaving school early, spend the afternoons learning practical skills and theory at a design academy. Since general high schools typically have a seventh period and evening self-study sessions, I initially felt self-conscious about the way my peers looked at me and found the situation somewhat uncomfortable. Nevertheless, based on my promise to my homeroom teacher and my conviction about my career path, I resolved to do my best during the time allotted to me.
During regular class hours, I focused on core subjects to prepare for the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) and my school grades, and I participated diligently in other classes as well to ensure my grades didn’t suffer. Although I was unable to attend the supplementary classes held after the fifth period, I stayed focused during class, took thorough notes, and asked many questions. As a result, my teachers recognized my positive attitude, and every time I received praise, my enjoyment of studying and my confidence grew.
Balancing cram school and school was busy and challenging, but I was actually grateful for that time. At night, I focused on learning what I’d always wanted to study at the design academy—such as textile patterning, sewing, and design practice—while maintaining a balance that allowed me to thoroughly prepare for college entrance exams during the day. Ultimately, I realized that following my homeroom teacher’s advice was the right choice, and it led to me achieving a grade point average within the top three tiers and a college entrance exam score that qualified me for admission.
Write about major school activities and reflections
During my sophomore year of high school, I played bass guitar in the school band and performed on stage at various school events. After building a solid foundation at a music academy during my freshman year, I had more free time to pursue the musical activities I’d always wanted to try, so I auditioned and joined the band. Our band primarily performed original songs that expressed students’ emotions, and since we enjoyed playing intense genres, it was a great way to relieve stress.
Being part of the band club allowed me to perform at various events, including the freshman orientation, the principal’s inauguration ceremony, the fall festival, and the senior send-off party. Among these, the most memorable experience was preparing for the fall festival. As the school’s largest event, it held great significance for the band club, as we spent summer vacation pulling all-nighters to prepare several original songs to perform on the festival stage.
However, my schedule overlapped with the evaluation period for the college prep class at my design academy, making it difficult to adjust my schedule. Unlike one-off events, the fall festival required a month of intensive preparation and participation on the day of the festival, and since I was in the position of teaching younger students how to play, I couldn’t easily skip it. Faced with this situation, I pondered how to successfully balance both my band club activities and the academy evaluations.
Ultimately, I decided to thoroughly prepare for the academy’s evaluation projects at night and, on school days, use my lunch breaks and spare time after school to teach the younger members how to play whenever I could. I also took charge of creating the costumes for the band club’s performance on the day of the festival, contributing to the team through costume design and production. Since making the costumes helped reduce costs, the club expressed their gratitude to me.
The stage costumes I prepared featured a harmonious blend of black and navy blue, using lightweight fabrics, leather, and metallic accents to create a sophisticated look that was eye-catching without being overly flashy. I prioritized comfort so that the outfits could double as everyday wear, and this approach earned positive feedback from both the band members and the audience.
I also received high scores on the academy’s evaluation, which led to my placement in the college preparation class; this experience taught me how to turn a crisis into an opportunity.
Writing about examples of consideration, sharing, and cooperation, along with my reflections
In my sophomore year of high school, for my Home Economics class, we were assigned a quilting project. Quilting involves sewing layers of fabric with batting in between to create items such as pencil cases or cushions. Since I was used to creating projects on my own, I had planned to work independently. However, several friends suggested group work, proposing that we collaborate to create a higher-quality piece while ensuring everyone received the same grade.
Believing that collaborating with others would yield better results than working alone, I joined the group project. Since the evaluation criteria were stricter for group submissions and we had to submit a written plan outlining our division of labor, we approached the project carefully from the planning stage. In particular, since our group consisted of five members, we decided it would be more efficient to create a large-scale piece—one that allowed for a division of labor—rather than simple small items.
I proposed making a large quilt large enough to cover three adults. My friends accepted my suggestion, and we decided to create a quilt featuring a variety of patterns and colors. As the group leader, I clearly documented each person’s role and divided the work into specific tasks, such as cutting the fabric, stuffing the quilt, initial stitching, secondary stitching, and quilting.
After working on it whenever we had free time over the course of three weeks—using breaks and the workshop—we finally completed the large quilt. This was the result of everyone cooperating and being considerate of each other’s responsibilities, and we naturally grew closer during the creative process. Our home economics teacher was deeply impressed by our work and praised us highly; she even asked if she could take it home for her own children to use. Through this experience, I realized that the joy of creating something together is far greater than doing it alone.
Efforts and Preparation Related to Motivation and Career Plans
Since high school, I have consistently turned my interest in fashion design into action. I gained practical skills by learning the fundamentals of clothing design—such as weaving, textiles, pattern-making, and sewing—at a design academy, and I actively participated in school-based clothing production projects and related activities to build my experience. These experiences have greatly helped me solidify my dream of becoming a fashion designer who creates ready-to-wear clothing.
My dream is to become a designer who creates ready-to-wear clothing in line with the latest trends, and to run a shop that reflects my personal style by producing not only clothing but also a variety of items such as accessories, bags, and shoes. Through this shop, I hope to grow my brand by selling the products I design via both brick-and-mortar and online stores.
As a starting point to realize this dream, I am considering majoring in clothing and fashion design. I believe that college will allow me to further deepen and expand upon the fundamentals I learned at the academy. Background courses such as the history of costume culture, clothing theory, and fashion marketing will serve as the foundation for my growth as a clothing professional, while practical courses like dyeing and design workshops or design CAD will greatly help me develop a sense of the industry.
Once I enter college, I plan to focus on my major courses while also working toward obtaining certifications to build my practical skills. Specifically, I intend to certify my design capabilities by earning the Fashion Design Industrial Engineer certification, and I plan to complement my merchandising and consumer analysis skills with certifications in fashion merchandising or distribution management. Additionally, to develop the marketing and management skills necessary for running a store, I plan to pursue relevant certifications and participate in practical projects.
As I approach graduation, I will devote my efforts to creating a fashion portfolio to register my own brand and prepare for sales. To this end, I will actively participate in practical fashion planning and fashion project courses, and I will gain hands-on experience through industry-academia collaboration and internship opportunities provided by the school to develop a viable business model. I intend to realize my dream by preparing step by step in this manner.
