Reality hit me like truck. Ambition and dream seems like something so distant and almost alien to me. Aku teringat aku tengok speech Donggu dalam 2 Days 1 Night time dorang pegi Ewha University. Kalau rajin playlah video kat bawah ni. Kalau rasa nak tengoklah.
For people who are not going to watch; here is the transcript:
Title of talk: The Road Even a GPS Can't Find
We were given the topic so suddenly, so I wondered what to lecture on.. But earlier, during the day, my mentor* was concerned about this: Whether to pursue her dreams or follow her parents' wishes; the safe route that her parents wanted. I think that this is a really difficult question. So I'd like to tell you my thoughts on it. These days, people seem to know too much. But we don't really know who we are. We don't know what we like. We don't know what makes us sad. We don't seem to know. If we were to take a test...
If you were to grab a grade or high school students and ask them what their dream is and they don't know. Even if they do have a dream, if you ask why they have that dream, they can't answer you. They don't know who they are, what they're good at. They have no dreams. I was recently in the army** and I met a lot of men that are around your age there and I found that they had the same problem. "How should I live my life?".
I want to ask you the same question. Let's say you are given only one day and you must be happy on that day.. I know the question sound silly. Do you actually have something you could so, if you had to be happy? It's like that in the army (chuckles). You only have one day off, and you have to relieve all the stress in one day. You want to eat good food and do all this. But you have to be good to your parents too. So much to do. But what would really make me happy? I couldn't find the answer. No matter how much you read and no matter how much you think, I couldn't work out who I really was. Given that I have yet to reach my success...
It's easy to reach your destination on the highway, you can reach your destination quickly. But, if you make a detour, you'll see the beautiful scenery you never noticed. There will be uphills and downhills.. and you will realize later on that they were beautiful and meaningful. I was also a student like you who went to school and worked part-time then I was suddenly cast on 'High Kick'***. I didn't even know how to read a script. Everything I did was terrible acting. But the sitcom got over 20% and 30% viewer ratings.
I got to star in commercials. And I made money. I got a new car and people started to treat me differently. On top of that, I was cast in 'Bread, Dreams and Love'. It got over 50% viewer ratings. Do you think I was happy? No. I was scared... Because it wasn't my achievement. I was just extremely lucky. Thing was, if I did anything more, I'd lose everything. So I started to hide. I avoided seeing the public. I completely hid myself and especially didn't do variety shows. Why? You saw how bad I am at table tennis****. I was afraid of being revealed.
But... Meanwhile, my coworkers, for example, Joo Won, Shin Sekyung, Park Shinhye and Choi Daniel, they continued the challenge even if they failed. They fought against the online haters and continued on their path as actors. When I was in the military. I regretted so much. I imagined how beautiful it must've been for them. I regretted...that I avoided experiencing the ups and downs because I was scared. Now I want to see the beautiful scenery of the uphills and downhills myself. That's why I decided to join 2 Days 1 Night. It will be hard to go up and scary to go down. Still, I'll give it a try. Thank you.
*this episode, they casts are paired with an Ewha student (mentor)
**Korean men have to undergo military service for 2 years
***the speaker is an actor
****A joke made to describe his fear to expose his weakness to viewers (He's bad at table tennis)
I omitted some unnecessary part in the transcript aka the joke people who aren't familiar won't understand. .
I remember tearing up when I first listened to this talk. Now I just straight up cry because I could relate so much to it. I am feeling so afraid to throw myself out there. But I don't want to waste my youth like this. I want to live passionately. But I am too damn scared that it's too much for me to handle. I don't know what to do and I'm stuck in my comfort zone, my safe haven.. under my parents wings. I hate myself for being a coward like this but where do I find the courage?
I have so much insecurities right now that they're driving me nuts. I keep thinking and thinking to the point I hope my brain just stop working for a while so that I can have a peace of mind. But I don't have the luxury to do so. I have to think how do I want to spend my life, how do I want to make a living, what I really want in life and everything or I'll just stuck here forever. It is such a dangerous place really. So dangerous.
I remember having dream and ambition when I was younger and feeling so excited on how the future will turn out for me but now, I've learned the hard way that when you grow up, there's so much more than just dream. You are suddenly hit with the reality. Reality of life and fate. What you dreamed of is not always the way you are meant to live like. I was so caught up with my dream that when it failed, now I am no one? Hahaha...
I don't want to look back on my life when I am older and regret how I spend my young precious days...
What do I really want in life? How do I go through this life?
I'm afraid.. so so afraid.. but still, I want to give it a try....
