Have you ever heard of ‘Hell-Joseon’ or ‘Heuksujeo’? These words appeared in our society to describe how no matter how hard people try in their lives, they still feel shabby when compared with other people. Some people ignore and even contradict their own value and efforts. Even though we may feel we are shabby, our existence in this world is valuable and we should all live enthusiastically. We’ve done our best! It is time that we look back and reward ourselves by rediscovering our own value.

  Lee Kang Won (Civil Construction, ’09)
  I want to give ‘space’ to myself. I have been very tired since I entered university, joined the army, and now I’m preparing for employment. As time has gone by, I have started to feel that the breadth of my mind has started to disappear. I have become impatient with what I am doing, and feel bound to petty matters that offer no breadth to my mind. This is why I want to find space for myself, so I can relax for a while and reorganize myself.

  Kim Ho Rim (Department of Construction Engineering, ’16)
  I want to give myself ‘an expensive guitar’. I’m participating in a band club and I’m using a cheap guitar because I don’t have enough money. For this reason, I’d like an expensive guitar as a gift for myself to practice it harder. I want to hold performances frequently and play good music for people.

  Ham Yun Jeong (European language & literature, ’16)
  I want to give myself a ‘camera’ as a present. I want to learn how to take pictures and freely take photos of scenery, people, and so on. I want to capture happy memories made from new friendships formed at university and of family trips. I would love to see photos of these memories in the future. There is an old saying, ‘Only photos remain constant’. When I graduate and get married later, I want to look after myself by looking at photos.

  Lee Seung Min (Department of Administration, ’14)
  I want to give a ‘travel ticket’ to myself as a present. During the semester, I struggled with tuition, managing my credits and part-time jobs. I want to travel because I lacked the time to do it during the semester. In addition, I think that there are many things that I can get by traveling. During the trips, I could see, hear and feel this and that. So, I want to give a trip ticket to myself and go anywhere I want.

  Seo Hyo Bin (Instrumental Music, ’16)
  I want to give a ‘food trip’ to myself. Lately, I couldn’t eat what I wanted because I had to fit in a dress before a concert. I want to eat various delicious foods as a reward to prove that I tried hard for the concert. Therefore, I would like to do a ‘food trip’.

  Kim Ar Yang (Civil and Environmental Engineering, ’12)
  Because I have been so busy these days, I want to give myself ‘a glass of alcohol’. I’m studying to gain all sorts of certificates and take exams, and at the same time I’m attending a winter class during this vacation. I want to buy a glass of alcohol to console myself saying that I’ve done a great job studying hard and living hard.

  Eom Jeong A (Software, ’16)
  I want a ‘photo album’ of photos since my childhood as a present. When I see photos of my childhood, I know how much I have been loved, and how important I am. If I look at the pictures of things that were fun and worthwhile, I’ll have the power to move forward. Also, it’ll be a chance to reflect and fix wrong things when I look at the photos of hard and wrong things. Therefore, I would like to get a photo album.

  Lee Ji Ung (Global Business Track, ’16)
  I want to give ‘money’ to myself. I want to do many things, such as travel, play certain sports, play musical instruments, etc. However, I am a university student now, so I am forced to give up many things due to the economic reality of my life. For these reasons I want to give money to myself, so I can learn and experience life with more freedom.

  Oh Heung Jin (Department of Nursing Science, ’12)
  I’d like to give a ‘vacation’ to myself as a gift. Now, I’m studying to get a certificate of qualification to prepare for employment and I’m trying to develop myself. I want to give myself some free time at a leisurely place so I can relax and escape some of these stresses.

  Park Tae Jin (Chemistry and Biological Engineering, ’11)
  I want to give myself a ‘house’ as a present. These days one of the biggest worries for 20s, 30s is marriage. I think that people hesitate to marry because they don’t have a home where they can raise a family and it is very difficult to purchase ‘my house’. Consequently I want to give a house to myself so that I can start a new family and have my own resting place.

  Yang Han Jin (Software, ’16)
  I want to present a ‘laptop’ to myself. While attending school, I have always carried my laptop in my bag. However, my laptop was heavy, so I always didn’t want to carry it. Looking back on the last year, however, it was a meaningful object to me. I always used my laptop when I attended classes, did my homework and played games with my friends. I think a laptop can hold a lot of memories and if I give the laptop to myself, it can be an opportunity to look back on my past year.

  Through this Campus Talk, we looked back and cheered ourselves up. We were encouraged to move forward. Since we have done our best, our existence in this world is valuable. We are qualified to receive compensation because we have lived to our fullest. I hope that all Gachon University students will think about a present that they can give to themselves. How about giving a gift directly to yourself?