Even though this isn’t technically my first post on this blog, I thought I’d do one of these introductory posts so you can get to know me just a little bit better.

Me

My name is Veronica! I’m from Southern California and I attended school in Oregon, where I earned a degree in English. I recently graduated and moved back home, and I still don’t have a super clear direction for my future. Right now, I work part-time at a kids’ play facility, and sometimes it’s really fun, while other times, well…no comment. It’s kind of weird working part-time with no other obligations or activities going on in my life. When I was in college, I went to school full-time, tutored, worked as a retail manager, and helped run my department’s honor society. I rarely had a spare moment, so to go from a jam-packed schedule to only working 20 hours a week is almost like culture shock. My next big step in life is pursuing my goal of becoming an ESL teacher abroad. I applied to teach English in South Korea through the EPIK program, but unfortunately my paperwork got botched so it didn’t work out. I haven’t given up yet and I’m going to apply again in the next couple months, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that second time’s the charm.

Through my interest in EPIK, I developed an interest in K-Pop and K-Dramas. It’s just inevitable that any mild research into South Korea will lead you to discover the wonderful world of Korean boy bands and other addicting forms of popular entertainment. Now that I listen to Korean music, watch Korean television, and plan on living and working in Korea, I figured I ought to know the language, so I self-study Korean in my spare time. I’ve always wanted to be multilingual, so I am also interested in studying Japanese, Latin, Spanish, and of course, improving my grasp of English grammar. Eventually I want to also study Mandarin and/or Cantonese, French, German, ASL, and maybe a southeast Asian or Pacific language, not sure. It seems impossible when I look at this long list of languages, but I guess I’ve got the rest of my life to keep studying, right? I think learning a language is a life-long journey anyways.

Aside from languages, I also enjoy reading (both fiction and non-fiction), having Netflix and Youtube marathons, playing music from time to time, and blogging, of course. To be honest, I don’t really have any hobbies…which sounds awful. But really, I don’t. I don’t sew or knit or garden, or take photos or draw or Photoshop, or cook or bake, and I definitely don’t practice any sports. However, this is something I really want to change.

This Blog

I started a blog before this one called TheJ2K. I thought I would use it to document my Korean language acquisition as well as my ESL teaching journey. Since things didn’t work out so well with my EPIK application, I kind of felt discouraged from using that blog anymore since it was so narrowly focused. I decided that I shouldn’t let that stop me from doing something I enjoy, writing and blogging, so I gave myself a fresh start. I want to use this new blog to document all of my various language learning efforts, interests, and my attempts to become a more well-rounded person.

I think the existence of this blog and the responsibility I have to fill it with my thoughts will inspire me to be more active in my life. I want to see and do and experience more things, and I want to connect with like-minded people. I hope that anyone who comes across this blog finds enjoyment and maybe a little inspiration.

♥