 | ||
| ▲ Han Sang-kwon, Announcer of KBS, Dept. of Business (Class of ’89) | ||
What would I do if I had an opportunity to go back to my twenties? I sometimes shed tears when I recollect those days. Certainly, they were filled with youth and romance. Just as the last narration of the drama, “Reply 1988 (2015)” states, youth is beautiful since it shines at the moment and it is impossible to get it back.
Although I have the most beautiful memories of that time, I do not wish to go back. This is because anxiety and anguish caused by uncertainty about the future, and the sense of shame coming from the gap between reality.
It was during immature days when I lacked self-esteem and certainty in my life. I had spent the whole day in the Central Library, with neither a mentor nor a role model to follow. If I were to meet with myself in my twenties, I would like to hold him tight to tell him that life just passes as time flows; thus it is unnecessary to be anxious.
One of the tragedies of life is that you can never know tomorrow. Even in this moment, we just struggle to live today, without any knowledge about tomorrow. Sometimes we look back with regret, saying, “Why have I strived so hard when I get only this in return?” We, once in a while, give a hollow smile when we look back onto our lives, feeling pitiful and sorry for ourselves.
However, I believe it is necessary for us to remember the scientific proof of the principle of cause and effect. In order for water to boil, the heat must cause the water to reach 100 degrees Celsius. Also, it is undeniable that “the art of living is more like wrestling than dancing,” as Marcus Aurelius said.
Even in this moment, countless young people are struggling against themselves to live out their lives by even giving up on their sleeping hours. They are putting all their efforts into satisfying the demands of our society, which are to gain “specs.” They sacrifice their todays expecting that such efforts will lead them to get jobs, to accomplish academically, and to reach other life goals.
In the short run, our fate may betray our sweat. However, some day, surely, the seed of our efforts will sprout. Without the mileage of effort and sacrifice, there is no tomorrow. I would like to dedicate this to people in their youth who are working nonstop with passion.
“Banat, Banat, Ban Jai! (Making, making, someday made!)”