24/08/2026
i'm 40 and i'm not afraid to admit that:
1. i didnt choose nursing because of passion. i chose it to escape korea. i'm grateful now, because it led me to cosmetic nursing, which i do love.
2. people think i'm an extrovert. but my social skills are acquired skills. anyone who knew me in high school or before knows how quiet & introverted i actually was.
3. i may have developed separation anxiety. 8 school transfers, back and forth for years between and within the US & korea, always the new kid in school. adapting was my priority, not adventure.
4. i still struggle with my Third Culture Kid identity. too korean for americans, too american for koreans, too both for australians.
5. i lied about my age to koreans for years (age matters a lot in korea). i skipped a grade, so all my peers were older than me, but i didn't want to use honorifics or call them unni/oppa. graduated uni at 21, and no one took me seriously for a long time.
6. now i want to look younger, and stress out when other 40yo korean women look younger than me.
7. i've changed careers 6 times: law, translation, IGO, makeup, cosmetic tattooing, nursing. and i envy people who have "20 years in the industry" under their belt.
8. often times i fake it till i make it. because the world's a Catch-22: you need the job to gain experience, but you need experience to gain the job. i know i'm good at what i do, so just gimme a chance.
9. i can work painfully slow on certain things. too many tasks at once and i freeze... like a broken computer. just gimme a moment gotta reboot my brain to prioritise my to-do list.
10. i have too many passions. that's probably why i've pivoted so many times. most days it feels like i'm just wasting time. but i want to believe it's my superpower.
life can often feel overwhelming, but i'm learning to take it one step at a time. if you feel the same way, follow along i'm here for you :)