At this moment I don’t like going out fishing. Because it harms the fish and makes them vulnerable to their environment. But I will always remember those times when I went fishing with my grandpa. 

 

 

 

👉🏻 West-Germany. 

 

However, my nationality is South Korean that I need to carry this Korean passport with me whenever I would like to travel abroad.

 

When I think about where I have come from and where I want to go, I enjoy having a look on my passports. It brings me back those memories of my past. Leaning new languages, various cultures and meeting good friends around the world. 

Even though the coronavirus pandemic made it difficult to cross borders,

I hope this passport will allow me to have new encounters around the globe. 🌏

The original pedant and chain was gifted to me by my mum and dad when I was quite young. My first every real gold piece of jewellery. I felt so special that my parents trusted me with something valuable when I was young. Also it was gifted to me in a felted flower shaped box, which I was told my dad picked out. It meant a lot that he had picked it out for me.

Then this year the chain unfortunately broke. I hadn’t worn the necklace in years as I was too afraid to break it, but when I got it out last year it quickly became a favourite. 

I was looking to get the necklace repaired when my gran offered to buy me a new chain. She got me a thicker and nicer chain for no reason, it wasn’t a birthday or any kind of special occasion. 

I now wear it everyday because it makes me think of them. 

 

My mom has been the beginning and end of my world. I have been my mother’s daughter through and through. Some would call it irony, but my mom was diagnosed with Cancer the same week I was offered admission to my dream college back in 2020. 

Before her diagnosis, I thought I had it all figured out. I had carefully (for years) planned out all the steps required for me to be where I wanted to be. But the thought of loving someone so much, of being so captivated by someone, only to have them ripped from you takes its toll on your heart and mind. This is the moment when you say to yourself, “I don’t see the point of college or anything, really.”

However, looking at my mom — she made it very clear that even while she battled for her life, her personal strength and work ethic served as a foundational part in who I chose to be as a person. She continued to follow her passion, she managed her business sitting right on the bed after every harsh session of chemo.

 I held back how I felt, for fear that seeing me upset would make my mom feel worse. I engaged in an internal fight against those emotions, and as you may guess this only made things worse. I finally gathered the courage and told her how helpless and lonely I felt. She said,

'Just be a good person’.

Suddenly one request shaped my life from that point on.  It's something I’ve pondered upon ever since that day.

I chose to smile and appreciate life, not because some destructive cells made me feel like a failure, but in spite of it.

Watching my mum’s ability to fight through all the trauma that she endured, taught me that no matter the outcome of an event, you should never settle. The most important thing that she has given me is the ability to always find something to smile about, all I have to do is look closer. This picture is with me everywhere I go, it serves as a reminder of gratitude and the qualities she has instilled in me. 

In 2008 I was six years old and I started first grade. In my first semester I got a D in Language. My parents told me that if I got a better grade for the end of the year I would get a Dog. I started asking for extra homework, making a hard effort and fighting for what I wanted. 

Finally by the end of that year I got a B. My parents were very proud and they gave me a dog, Sasha. She is no longer with me, but every time I think about her I smile because thanks to her I started to believe in myself. She was always with me and now being alone in my house feels empty because she is not right behind me. But at least I am thankful that I got to have her with me for so many years. 

My dream job used to be to enter football journalism, but this book is important because it represents the change towards politics. 

I feel like I inherit my hobbies. I sew with my Baba-chan's machine, and now I crochet with my grandmother’s crochet hooks. I am not nearly as talented as Baba was, but I did use this machine to sew my family cloth face mask at the beginning of the pandemic which was extremely helpful when we couldn’t find any in stores. I dread the day this machine, which is older than I am, stops working. I’m not as into sewing anymore, only picking it up occasionally and for small projects. When this machine stops working I’m not sure if I’ll buy a new one or put the hobby to rest with it. I like to think if she could see me she would be happy I’m making use of her machine. I know she would also yell at me for sewing everything wrong.

It was definitely a short time, but it felt like two years for me. We spent the whole time together and could share some fragments of life even we came to this world from a completely different background.

They called me Kwame, which is my Ghanian name they gave me. While I was staying there, I was not Muhong, but Kwame. 

On the last day before I left the town, they all gave me a warm hug, which took almost one hour to say good-bye to all of them. And this bracelet was the last one they wanted to give me. My two names, Kwame and Muhong were written on it. They said, I could remember them with this wherever I am, even on the other side of the world. 

And yes, I can say for sure, they do. They are still with me. I keep reminding myself what I felt and who I was there, and how they are still remaining as part of me.