Thirty years ago, my father moved from a small rural town with very limited educational and job possibilities to the city of Seoul with the dream of receiving a good education. My father pursued an undergraduate degree while he worked nights as a taxi driver. However, due to financial difficulty he had to give up his undergraduate education, which he has regretted throughout his life. Now he owns a small internet shopping mall and is taking night classes in order to finish his undergraduate degree. He has a dream that one day his business will grow enough to compete with global companies.
It is not easy for him being a student at night and working, as a 53 year old father of two sons. “ I’m doing what I’ve always wanted to do. Even if you’re successful in the business field, you will feel something is missing if you didn’t receive good education”, my father said one time. By looking at my father’s efforts to achieve his educational goal, my own keen desire to study abroad in the U. S. came to life again. In 1999, after my graduation from high school in New York, I wasn’t sure about my life goals.
I was supposed to be prepared to move out into the real world with my high school education, but I did not have a specific dream. Now I’m a different person, with a father who has helped my dream come alive once more. In order to become a successful business man like my father, I have no doubt that Santa Monica College is the right school to start my education. I can see that Santa Monica College can help me realize my dream for a good education. As my father has influenced me, one day I want to influence my child. I want to be a man who dares to dream, just as my father did.
