|
| Got a chance this morning to pick up Timmy and head to York University for the first time ever. Got up extremely early so that i could get a pretty quick tour with Tim so that i would roughly know where my classes were located.
Parking Spot
So i assumed that my Parking spot wouldn't be too far from some of my classes, but then again i never really got the chance to walk around and get a feel for the school. Surprisingly, its not so bad, although its a 10-15 minute walk it shouldn't be too bad, not until winter comes along and smacks me in the face.
Working
This year i made the bold move of deciding to work/study/volunteer during the school year. Sounds hectic, i know, but it beats having to get a loan from OSAP and taking it easy during the school year. My first year at Laurier was quite possibly the most chill, lazy, and easiest time of my whole entire life. DC++ CONSUMED my life for the next 8 months and my school marks weren't doing any better.
Thankfully, 2nd year i lived a bit off campus, so i was off of that DC++ addiction. Nevertheless, lounging around at my apartment and playing video games was still a priority more then school.
Entering my 3rd year at York (Technically first, since its my first time at York) i feel as if i need to get busy and start learning to balance my lifestyle. Work, School, and Volunteering at church will probably help me to succeed. I don't have too many classes and i'm working enough hours to pay off school, build up some savings, and have some spending money during the year.
Summer
I'm blessed with so many opportunities given to me by God (he's been so good to me). Primarily, being able to get a job at the end of April working at a tutoring centre. To expand, i got to teach each student 4 times a month and taught about 16 students during the first two months and slowly reduced it down to 12. got paid quite a sum of money and managed to save about 3000 to pay off some OSAP debt. Secondly, i was blessed with the opportunity to serve at One Way Youth as a small group leader for the Grade 10s. A wonderful opportunity to share my experiences with Grade 10 youth and a time where i got to know and acknowledge some of the kids within the ministry. Lastly, the retreat was an amazing experience with Pastor Jon, Justin, Ira, and the One Way Youth. Truly an amazing time where people experienced joy, pain, laughter, and fun throughout the 4 days. This was most definitely the highlight of my summer and an amazing time where we were able to send-off Pastor Jon on a bang.
School & Future Aspirations
This is the year where i will be able to finish my B.A in Religious Studies. I was surprised to know that most of my credits transferred over here to York, so i'm both glad and reluctant to what might be happening next. After i get my B.A i may have to spend another 2-3 years studying for a B.A in management or marketing. Shortly after, i pray that i be able to finish my degree and apply to teacher's college to finish my third degree.
I'm praying that i'll be able to work in business for a couple of years, let's say about....4-5 years and then make the career switch into teaching both business, history, and religious studies within a High School hopefully in the York District School Board.
Competition is tough and job opportunities don't come by so often in this world. I pray that whatever it is that i do, its something pleasing to you lord. I'm praying that me teaching will be beneficial to the education of children not to the church, but to society as a whole. I believe there is a greater purpose for me within Ontario and i pray that i can make a difference within this world.
God Bless,
Timothy Kim
| | |
| It's amazing how time flies by in such a short period of time. My stay at Wilfrid Laurier University has been probably one of the most grueling things the past two years, but hopefully i get accepted into York University or Ryerson University.
I'm scared at the fact that it might take a lot longer for me to graduate considering the fact that all of my credits won't be able to be transferred at the other schools, and on top of that I'm concerned about the length in which it'll take me to become a teacher.
York University has this grueling interview process, on top of that...you have to have a whole list of experience within a school environment, which i don't really have. I'm pretty sure the experience i gained from Korea isn't really useful when i write up my supplementary forms due to the fact that they're lacking credible references, and...i was teaching their illegaly. So i've been thinking constantly about what i've done in the past that has influenced by decision into becoming a teacher.
I guess it all started when i was in elementary schools when all the teachers were extremely and especially fond of me. Particularly in Grade 2 when i had this teacher named Mr.Rhemtula. Although i had forgotten, but my mom told me that when i was 7 i wanted to become a science teacher when i grew up. It's funny because i don't recollect that as one of my career choices when i was younger. I remember i used to say that i wanted to at first become a doctor, then a dentist, chiropractor...anything related to the field of sciences. It was when i hit high school that i realized that I don't exactly mix with the fields of mathematics and physics. I was terrible with math when i entered in High School...mostly because i couldn't comprehend calculus. It is when I was in A.Y where i thought a career as an accountant would be a great career choice for me. I picked this because i took a career test in one of those Career Classes and this career popped up.
I wasn't bad at accounting, but i thought it was okay as a career...so i decided to enroll into Wilfrid Laurier University for their Economics & Accounting major. Little did know, that my course focussed heavily more on economics..and less on the accounting major. This is where i found out that i didn't understand economics at all..not because i didn't study enough..but more on the fact that i couldn't comprehend it.
So, this is where my academics fell down during my first year. I was doing so bad, partly due to the fact that i hated my major...and on top of that..i was volunteering a lot during that year.
During the semester of Winter 2008 i began thinking heavily on what it was that i wanted to pursue...to do in life. The thing is, i never wanted to work for just money alone...or material possessions.. but something that i could enjoy doing while having time for hobbies and family.
One career choice that i thought of was becoming a pastor...but the thing is....to become one..it takes a lot of devotion and first place priority to become one. When realizing that, i knew that becoming a pastor wasn't what God had planned for me. I also knew that i was pretty knowledgable in the field of management, marketing, organizational behaviour, and religious studies. So i thought becoming a teacher would be the greatest choice.
I love to talk about the things that i like or study with others. I may at times be introverted and shy, but when it comes to a topic that i'm interested in..i'm always there to seek an interesting conversation with somebody.
So i believe becoming a teacher is truly my God given destiny, but the problem is i believe that in my current state right now..i'm unqualified to enter into my chosen programs.
But right now i'm writing to you God almighty, the one who has pulled me out of my deepest troubles and adversities. I know i haven't exactly been the greatest person in the world, and i've been conflicted about what i'm supposed to do with my life. But i ask that in your grace and in your mercy...that you'd forgive me for who i am..and what i've done in the past. I'm embarking on a future where i hope it is lived only for you Jesus, and i believe that my God-given destiny is one that is to help mould younger generations and to teach people today, the same things that you have taught us people for generations. So i ask that lord may you help me in what i hope to accomplish, and i hope that i get into my programs..even though it's a longshot.
This is my prayer to you Jesus,
Amen | | |
| I spent probably the last 10 minutes trying to figure out how to blog on this thing..and i just figured it out. Time really does change us all, i mean i hard a time adjusting to the new Xanga configurations that it took me a while to get everything back into order.
It's been a year since i've last logged onto this thing, and a lot has changed in a year...particularly me. After spending my first year in Wilfrid Laurier....i have to admit it changed me, but was it for better or for worse? During my first year...i was invovled in both House Council and Arts Laurier...and to be honest..my first year was probably the most meaningless and dullest experience of my whole entire life. I didn't experience what i wanted to experience probably because i held back from everything and ended up not enjoying my first year at all. It's funny because i was so nervous about starting my first year and tried really hard to make friends, but it just didn't feel the same as A.Y did...and i felt that i was losing the part of me that existed in High School.
In my Grade 12 year in A.Y..i was so focussed with school and knew who i was with God..because of all the great friends that i had...the church that i was at...and just the overall life that i lived in that year. I knew where i was going..and i knew how to attain it....but why was it that when i entered university..that i lost sight of who i was...and what i was after?
It's probably because reality really did make a smack job on me during my first year at Laurier. It was quite the lonely year without having many people to relate too since most of them spent their times drinking and partying everyday talking about their dorm room dramas, who got wasted, or who is the slut or the whore of the week. It's shocking how people live their lives like this in a year to year basis. I became so entrenched within this lifestyle...not that i drank or gossiped about who did what..but rather my life stood in a standstill. I became so lazy...and just spent my time alone in my room in front of my laptop just watching t.v shows or movies and heading out to my meetings. My grades slipped heavily...mostly because i became lazy..but also because i didn't know why i was in an Economics program...when i didn't even know anything about Economics and had a hard time comprehending it. This then overall affected me....i just lived life like it had no purpose besides just looking foward to going back home to Toronto where life would revert back to where it was in High School.
But the thing is...everything has changed...and my problem was....was that i took too long to change along with it. It took me a whole entire year to wake up from my twilight zone and to realize where i've been going throughout the whole entire year. It's sad...how my grades were pretty bad and i wasted a whole entire year in an economics program..when i should've initially applied into a business program somewhere back home in Toronto where it would save me a lot of money. All in all, i've come to realize that it was a learning experience to fix me from my mistakes. Although it's gonna be hard to get my GPA back up...i've been making up for it in my 2nd year at WLU as an undesignated Arts Student.
After my first year...i also took the unexpected decision of spending three and a half months in Korea tutoring kids english. I initially thought i was only going to be in Korea for two months..but then when i went to the travel agent to pick up my ticket...it ended up being three and a half months. So i thanked my father grudgingly.....hahaha...knowing i'd be missing out on the fun back home..but i also had this sense of adventure to experience my homeland once again.
Korea was great, but yet again....just like how my first year was lonely.....Korea was just even worse. There were people there that i met and that were great...but i could just not relate to any one of them. I'm Korean....but i'm quite possibly one of the most white-washed Koreans. I don't listen to Korean music (rather i hate it), I dislike modern Korean culture, and i most definitely do not like fobs....although technically i'm a fob in their country. So i spent three and a half months in Korea experiencing their lifestyle...which was pretty much going to a cafe with girls and sipping coffee....to.......playing starcraft at a pc bang with guys. The only fun parts thoughout that whole entire trip was pretty much hanging out with Kevin who i met through Isaac luckily. Kevin and i both agreed that if we weren't there...it would've been quite possibly the most terrible two months in Korea.
So throughout the summer i spent most of my time chilling with Kevin..but also taking the time to experience korean culture....checking out sites...like several palaces. It was an overall great experience..but probably one of the most loneliest ones as well.
When i returned back home to T.O...i felt a sigh of relief and comfort being back home again. The next day i quickly met up with Timmy, Jim, and Michelle quickly reflecting on how fast the summer past by. It was great to be back home, and was even better was that time in Korea gave me a lot of time to think about the future ahead of me. During my tutoring days in Korea...it was probably the most struggling experience i had. I was told to tutor these kids and was told to focus on their speech and communication skills...which was something i was totally unaware about when i first arrived. My uncle initially told me i was suppose to teach them english....but i ended up focussing on their speech and communication skills. Koreans quite possibly have the most terrible english in Asia.... i mean they have Korean teachers with terrible speech teaching their students english...so obviously their english is terrible. What's worse was that all of my students were introverted computer geeks who liked to play starcraft.....so it even made it harder to communicate with them. But i tried hard and hard to breakthrough their barriers...and eventually the kids were talking. Although i had to keep on initiating the conversation the whole entire time. What was great was two of my students improved in listening and speaking....since i spent most of my time focussing on teaching them figurative speaking.
Overall it got me thinking that teaching is a great career choice for me...hahahaha...i could picture students calling me Mr. Kim. But on top of that...i realized that i've always tried to be as selfless as possible by helping others whenever they're in need. I really hope that as a teacher i can accomplish something by better-ing society...rather then being a business mogul trying to make money.
I guess this past year got me thinking about who i was and who i wanted to be.......but luckily i think i have it together now. So hopefully next year i'll be in York University in their BAS program studying management and then taking consecutive....or i'll be in York University focussing on a Con Ed. program while doing a BAS program minoring in Religions...or vice versa.
Anyways i needed a moment to reflect and it's what xanga is good for i guess...hopefully during the year i take more time to blog on Xanga...but for now this is the end of this blog.
| | |
| I've come to notice that no matter how much you disregard the fact that you'll procastinate in university, it'll inevitably end up happening. It's funny because i recall myself in high school knowing that i would not procastinate, but rather work ahead of time. BAH It's never gonna happen, procastinitis strikes us university students pretty hard. I'm suffering for it too, although i've managed to half-ass my way through all my assignments and still come up with decent marks, i've realized that i can do alot better then this. It's funny how our high school teachers blatanly explained how hard university will be and how difficult the workload would be. To be frank, the amount of b.s material i've been coughing up in university is getting me better marks then the ones i received in High School. On a ligher note... University wasn't as tough as i would expect it to be, but then again it's only first year. The transition wasn't so bad and i pretty much went through these past three months pretty swiftly. I'm glad i came to laurier, there have been so many opportunities and i'm glad that i've grasped them. Co-op won't be so difficult to enter considering the fact that i've got a stacked co-cirricular record on hand. At WLU i'm part of: - Arts Laurier
- House Council
- Emergency Response Team
- LCCF
Although my sched. gets hectic, it's worth it. Getting to meet new people and forming all these great events for the first year students here at Laurier. Well, i'm gonna go to bed..i'll come back to finish this entry | | |
| Life's Tough After spending a good two months of summer all to my busy self, it just feels too good to be whisked away so suddenly by the "tough" transition to University. God plays such a huge factor in all the things that i do, and it's kinda funny how i felt that i could really party it up in the first year and just have alot of fun. But to be honest, it's not me. I'm not the type of guy who likes to party a lot, who enjoys small-talk, or play around all the time. Is it because i'm too insecure? NO! Or is it the way God designed me to be? I kinda wondered at times as to why i feel to obliged to carry through against the temptations and hardships that keep on coming across me. (the drugs, the alcohol, the partying, the overall sin!) But i guess it's just what i've become over the past three years. My point is, will refraining myself take me anywhere in the future? I personally believe that i'll never sink deeply into them, but i also believe that there's something to learn about them, and to understand. Man i'm being such a whiny baby, hahaha grow up Tim, just grow up! My Jesus and His People At first i always knew that Jesus was "the saviour" but i mean what did it really mean? I really believe that as a child that my sunday school teachers created this misleading figure of Jesus being my best friend, who performed miracles, and had devoted friends (the disciples). But Jesus is something more then just some simple religious figure in this world. And i really believe that science cannot justify the magnitude of this world in which "HE" himself created. Jesus to me is someone who has a compassion to help, a will to serve, and a love for people. Not "his" people, but people in general. And it often shocks me at times as to how poorly his people are portrayed at times. At times christians accuse gay people of their lifestyles, we taunt other religions, and also we continue to evangelize poorly without thinking of how HE would evangelize. It often drives me nuts when gays are often kicked out or hated in the church. I mean c'mon! There is no such thing as a greater or lesser value in sin. Stealing a car to stealing a pen is still the same thing. You're stealing, but in the context of gay people being accussed WE do not have the right to put them down! We're still sinners, but do you honestly believe you're any better then them? I honestly hate the fact that things like anti-gay movements exist. It forms such a horrible presentation of the church and to what we are all about. We also have no right to solemn right to just barge into people's lives and believe we we can transform then into christians. For example, yelling out passages of the bible and saying that they are to be sent to hell isn't exactly what Jesus made us to do. We should be communicating with these people, helping them, comforting them, and also loving them. There's always the need to convince others, but to be honest it's all about sharing who he is and what he has done and will do for them. He's more then just a simple figure, he's the answer to alot of the missing factors in this world. To be frank, what we're doing is totally opposite of what Jesus had taught us. Although Jesus was persecuted by pharisees, religious leaders, and others. He still held a deep compassion and love to reach out to them. And that is what we should be all about. So if you honestly believe what you're doing is right? Then would you call yourself a follower of Christ! So for God's sake, don't persecute others! Look at yourself and look at their hearts. Because franky, People in general are all good-hearted. The Future At First spending 3 days at Laurier got me thinkin', is it truly possible for a Korean kid like me so live in such a white community like Laurier? Well for the first two days i didn't, i felt so secluded, no one realli engaged me, and being the only asian guy didn't help at all hahahaha. But i guess during the 3rd day, it got better, i felt like i got to know people alot better. Well knowing myself i'm not much of a small-talk guy. But actually spending 3 days with some of these people got me to a new level. And i'm confident that my first year at Wilfred Laurier will probably be one of the best years of my life. Hopefully??? I seemed afraid of the future. Leaving my family, friends, loved-ones. And i still am, but in faith i know that this is where i'm suppose to go, and i pray that there's some future for me within ministry and within the working field! To the future!
WLU#: 070760620 | | |
|
