Be Proud Of Who You Are

My grandmother was born at a time when the Japanese had invaded Korea. At those

times girls were not considered to be very important and guys were valued. That hasn¡¯t changed

a whole lot even today. Yet my grandma was an extrodinary women, she was the youngest girl

in her family and her mother died when she was only five years old. She went to about third

grade because Korea doesn¡¯t have a public school system and learned most of her reading and

writing skills through her older sisters, who knew a little more than her. My grandma was a fast

learner and was able to learn Korean and even Japanese quickly. Living under a very strict father

she was not able to go farther than the front yard. She was often discouraged in learning stuff

such as math, history, and reading and writing. Most of these stuff was often taught only to boys

that could afford it. Girls were not taught anything but how to cook and clean. Regardless of her

sex she desired for something better. She learned these basic skills independently and even

exceeded in them. She loved reading books and read what she could find and she is the most

intelligent person I know.

She is a multi-talented women with determination and believes if you set your mind your

goal there isn¡¯t anything that you can¡¯t achieve. My grandma wasn¡¯t able to be somebody that

gave a lot of influence and didn¡¯t meet some of her goals, I am proud of her intelligence and how

much she was able to do independently. Even as a grandma she loves to learn and presently is

learning English. She is almost eighty years old and she looks like she is only sixty. Even now as

a grandma, she is active and passionate about education. She encourages me to get a good

education and more than my parents wants me to grow and mature with confidence in who I am

and what I can achieve. She always tells me there isn¡¯t anything that you can¡¯t do if you work

hard for it. She doesn¡¯t regret or looks back and complain about the Japanese control of Korea

because through that she was able to push herself and achieve all that she has. Through her

hardships she learned to be strong-willed and determined.