Som Ho is my friend, whom I have been friends with since high school. She is the most inspirational person I have ever met in my life.
I call her a "Cotton Swab", or "Som Dongeori". She always somehow seems to be able to overwork and get herself sick. I used to call her by her nickname because I thought it was cute, but as soon as I realized that she was a workaholic who did often ended up in a hospital, I knew my nickname for her was perfect. She seems to smell of sanitized alcohol swabs one can find in the cold, silver, metallic carts at a hospital. She once had to get carted off to the hospital because she did not sleep for an entire week, studying for the exams and doing part time jobs at the same time. She always worries me, yet merrily shouts "I'm fine!" whenever I nag at her. "I'm really fine! I have so many people worrying about me!" she would say.
I have known her for the last 5 years, yet she hasn't changed much, both mentally and physically. She is not that tall. She is about 163 cm. She hasn't grown much. She is skinny, yet somehow manages to look sturdy. I always think that it's her personality that makes her look so strong despite her state. That does not mean that she seems strong enough, however. Her boyfriend always nags on her to gain more weight. He even once offered to work out under the condition that she would eat more and gain more weight.
Som used to have jet black hair, but recently dyed it light brown. It never seems to grow out. She always trims it to a certain length if she thinks it's getting too long. She typically keeps it undone, but ties it into an extremely tight ponytail when she has a reason to keep it up.
When she does not have to work, she attempts to put on makeup, which never seems enough for me. I always fight the urge to pin her down to do the eyebrows for her. She's still pretty in her own way though. She always wears a smile on her face. The sleepy smile that never seems to leave the corner of her mouth makes her seem softer than whatever she actually is. That changes when she starts working, though.
Whenever she works, she wears a pair of thick, brown-framed glasses. Then she takes out her laptop. I get a little scared that she might get sucked into the screen. She does not take her eyes off the screen, squinting in concentration and murmuring words to keep herself alert. She clutches onto the screen of her laptop with her left hand, using her right hand to click away on the mouse. She stares right up whenever I call her, though, with that sleepy smile. She would say "Yesss?", stretching the last syllable, making her sound much more relaxed than whatever she actually is.
She often looks so desperate that people around her, including myself, begs for her to stop. As mentioned, Som does not hesitate to not sleep at all when she decides that she has too much workload and studying to do. She never listens to anyone begging her to stop though, of course. She is a very determined individual. When she decides that she has to do something, she makes it happen no matter what. She does whatever she can do to keep herself motivated and going. I once watched her write about a hundred companies, asking for funding so that she could go to India for the work that she was so desperate to do. This was in high school. Watching her being so desperate always makes me look back on myself. She motivates me to become more passionate.
Som is a good friend, as well as a great listener. I often go to her to talk about my problems for that reason. Although she has achieved so much, she never brags about it. She is always humble about what she has done, and tells everyone that there are people that have achieved more than her.
What's really interesting about her is that she never ceases to use black humor. She often jokes that she is a product of this neo-liberalism society, which is filled to the brim with competition. I personally believe that she says this because it is obvious by her everyday actions and words that she really does not believe this deep into her heart. She often jokes in a very grave tone, but she does not have to explain that this is a joke as long as the people that she is talking with are her close friends, like me or her boyfriend. Her sarcasm, and how she manages to keep the atmosphere light despite the serious topics that she often comes up with never ceases to amuse me.
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ReplyDeleteOn Being Inspirational: A Cotton-like Friend
ReplyDeleteJung Aa Ahn / Thursday 1-3pm
It was a humid summer evening, towards the end of the summer vacation. I was heading back from another exhausting day of math, looking out the dirty window of the 1225 bus I always rode on my way home. That was when my tattered pink phone let out a wail, to signal the start of a new kind of friendship.
“Hey Jung-Aa, it’s me, Dasom from class 1,” Dasom said softly, in a dreamy voice through the phone. “I am planning on making this club called Specialized. Are you in?”
This is the first memory I have of Dasom Hong, my busy little friend. She is a friend that I have been friends with since high school. She has always inspired me to never give up, and to always challenge myself in new adventures. In high school, she asked me if I wanted to be the designer for the new club she was establishing. In the university, she asked me if I wanted to do translation work for the Ahn Eunmi Company. She always found works that she knew I would do best, and helped me broaden my perspective of the world.
I always call her a "Cotton Swab,” or "Som Dongeori.” I created her nickname the moment I met her based on her name Dasom. Many people have approved me for how appropriate the nickname was, while one friend constantly argued that this was not the right pet name for her. He actually chased me down when we were all seniors in high school to argue with me when he realized that I was the one that had given her the nickname. “It’s too cute for her, don’t you see?” he fumed. “You actually she is cute enough to deserve that adorable nickname?”
Dasom, in general, was a very tough person ever since I first met her in high school. Although her heart shaped face was always lighted up with a sheepish smile, something about the way she spoke made her seem much tough than what her looks conveyed. Maybe it was the choice of words – the wide variety of intelligent words that she used. It might have been her perceptive, piercing onyx eyes of a soon-to-be researcher. It might have even been her thin lips, often pursed in concentration. Maybe it was all these characteristics put together that made her so intimidating, despite the gentle smile that never left the corner of her mouth. One thing I know for sure is the fact that she is a very determined individual that never gives up.
She is not a very pleasant person to have as a friend, however. Dasom often looks too desperate for a friend to watch with one’s sane mind. She always overworks herself to the extremes. In high school, she once had to get carted off to the hospital because she did not sleep for an entire week, studying for the exams and doing part time jobs at the same time. Back then, if anyone wanted to find her, they just had to go to the water fountain after a meal. She was always there, gulping down a handful of pills to get her body to function properly. “I never earn enough for my medicines and trips to the hospital,” she often mused, and busted out in laughter.
Dasom is a bad joker in general. I stop myself from laughing at her jokes because the jokes that she makes often is a product of her strenuous experiences. Dasom joking about her medicine cost is just one example. She also often jokes that she is a product of this neo-liberalism society, which is filled to the brim with competition. Whenever she says this, I smack her on the back until she laughs and hits me back to stop me.
Dasom does not hesitate to not sleep at all when she decides that she has too much workload and studying to do. She never listens to anyone begging her to stop though, of course. When she decides that she has to do something, she makes it happen no matter what. She does whatever she can do to keep herself motivated and going. I once watched her write about a hundred companies, asking for funding so that she could go to India for the work that she decided she wanted to do in the near future. This was in high school. Watching her being so desperate always makes me look back on myself. She motivates me to become more passionate.
DeleteI have known her for the last 5 years, yet she hasn't changed much since high school, both mentally and physically. She is not that tall. She is about 163 cm. She hasn't grown much. She is slender in general. I always argue that she needs to gain more weight in order for her body to handle all the workload she imposes upon herself.
Som used to have jet black hair, but recently dyed it light brown. It never seems to grow out. She always trims it to her shoulders in attempt to keep it from becoming a crazy mane. She typically leaves it undone, but ties it into a tidy ponytail whenever it gets in her way. When she does not have to work, she attempts to put on makeup, which never seems enough for me. I always fight the urge to pin her down to do the eyebrows for her.
Whenever she works, she wears a pair of thick, brown-framed glasses. Then she takes out her laptop. I often get a little scared that she might get sucked into the screen. She does not take her eyes off the screen, squinting in concentration and murmuring words to keep herself alert. She clutches onto the screen of her laptop with her left hand, using her right hand to click away on the mouse. She stares right up whenever I call her, though, with that sleepy smile. She would say "Yesss?", stretching the last syllable, making her sound much more relaxed than whatever she actually is.
Som is a good friend, as well as a great listener. I often go to her to talk about my problems for that reason. Although she has achieved so much, she never brags about it. She is always humble about what she has done, and tells everyone that there are people that have achieved more than her.