Hi, I’m Grace.
Traditionally in Korea, on a child’s first birthday, the family lays out a spread of various items that foretell the baby’s future depending on what she grabs – money indicates prosperity, a spool of thread signifies longevity and health.
On my first birthday, I grabbed a pencil. Whether or not my fate was sealed on that day, I’ve always grown up with a love of writing and, most importantly, the process of creating. I wrote half-finished stories about a hacker who accidentally uncovers a top-secret police file and is recruited into a shadowy world of lies and intrigue, about a post-apocalyptic world where water is scarce and a lone boy embarks on a journey to uncover a new source, and about Greek gods who infrequently deign to mingle in human lives until one day, a boy from Athens approaches them with an interesting bargain.
My journals, of which the oldest dates back to 1999, have borne witness to many childhood crushes, struggles with insecurities, my successes and failures, enlightening conversations with friends and strangers, new travel experiences, and all the lessons I’ve learned exploring my innumerable interests.
However, as I’ve gotten older I’ve started to become more of a passive consumer of content rather than an active participant in the creative process. I would scroll through endless Facebook feeds, news articles, YouTube videos and other peoples’ blogs, but never offer anything of my own into the digital sphere.
“People like you must create. If you don’t create, Bernadette, you will become a menace to society.” – Maria Semple, in Where’d You Go, Bernadette
This blog is the result of my realization. It is my public plea for accountability as I embark on journey to create, record, and share life’s adventures. My goal is to live a great story, and this blog’s purpose is to chronicle that story. I never want to stop exploring, to stop learning, or to stop appreciating all the small pleasures and blessings life has to offer.
A few more simple facts about me:
- Born in Korea, raised in Texas, currently residing in San Francisco.
- ESFP.
- Proud Longhorn (hook ’em \m/).
- I absolutely detest clutter – I’m not a “minimalist” by any means, but a cluttered space = a cluttered mind.
- My two favorite places in the world are bookstores/libraries and coffeeshops…during the summer months when I was a kid, my mom used to drop me off at a Barnes and Nobles in the morning and pick me up in the evening.
- I have somewhat of an obsessive personality – I tend to pick up new hobbies/interests with fervor but never seem to follow through to mastery.
- In any new place that I visit, I love going to a high point (if not the highest point) in that location so I can get a birds eye view of the land. It puts the world into perspective and reminds me just how small we really are in the grand scheme of things.
- Lover of learning new languages – in varying degrees, I can speak English, Korean, Spanish and Mandarin.
- I am always a work in progress – my tastes, thoughts, interests, passions are always changing. Who I am today will not be who I am tomorrow. I try (and sometimes fail) to remember to be patient with myself and that life is not a sprint but a marathon.