So, you all ask, what have I been up to? I don't think I've ever really blogged about my Korean pop culture obsession before, so here we go. I am OBSESSED with Korean pop culture.
First and foremost, is Super Junior.
Super Junior is the best thing I've discovered in the past year. I first learned about them in my World Music class, which if you will kindly remember, I was not crazy about. I'm happy that something good came of going to that class though. If you have a spare moment or two I highly recommend you look them up on youtube. Some of my favorite songs are "Bonamana", "Sorry, Sorry", "Super Girl", and "One Fine Spring Day".
I've been able to get most of my friends hooked on SuJu as well. One friend in particular, Ash, is my very bestest Asian loving music buddy. We're seriously considering going to Korea for study abroad if we can swing it our senior year. Here's hoping. :)
Anyway, there are a couple other Korean bands I like too. Girls Generation are great, as well as SHINee.
My favorite Girls Generation song is "Run Devil Run", while my favorite SHINee song is "Ring Ding Dong". Look them up and join the Asian obsession with me. :)
So, all these amazing groups (Super Junior, Girls Generation, and SHINee) are all owned by the same record label in Korea called SM Entertainment. SM is putting on a world tour featuring the aforementioned groups and some of others. And guess where they'll be coming on September 4, 2010? CALIFORNIA!!!! The Staples Center is their only scheduled stop in the U.S. on this world tour. I really, really wish I could go. So if anyone would be willing to chaperone me in L.A. for a weekend . . . :)
Anyway, moving on. Then, through a series of circumstances that would take too long to explain on this already too long, rambling blog post, I discovered the Korean drama "Boys Over Flowers".
From left to right: Song Woo Bin (played by Kim Joon), So Yi Jung (played by Kim Bum *He's my favorite*), Gu Jun Pyo (played by Lee Min Ho), Geum Jan Di (played by Koo Hye Sun), and Yoon Ji Hoo (played by Kim Hyun Joong).
I don't even know how to begin describing how much I love this show! It was originally a Manga cartoon, and I read the entire series online in about 3 days. This sounds really corny, but the show and manga has taught me a lot about love and friendship. Check out the first episode (you can find it on youtube with english subtitles) and you will be hooked. It's amazing!
So, that about sums up my Korean pop culture obsession. I like listening to my SuJu in the car and singing along with lyrics that I have no clue what they mean. But, you guys are probably sick of hearing about this (I know my family is). So how about we talk about books? :)
I love writing. I've said it a hundred times and I'll say it a million more. I love reading. I love classic lit, YA, Fantasy, Sci Fi, Inspirational, Self-help, all of it. My own writing and stories are coming along. I will be honest with you all, sometimes it's really hard to keep going on a story. I get this nagging voice in the back of my head that tells me I'll never be published and no one will like what I wite. Let's face it, I won't be the next J.K. Rowling or Stephenie Meyer. So why do I do it?
I ask myself this all the time. It would be easy to never finish a book or an outline. It would be really easy to give up on my dream of being a full time author. But it's something that I want so much. I really believe in my soul that what I write matters and that the stories I have to tell are things people will appreciate.
Currently I have 1 novel I'm seriously working on: Light vs. Dark. I have two other outlines of stories rearing and ready to go. One is an LDS YA novel similar to "The Secret Journal of Brett Colton." The other is an urban fantasy. They are stories I love, characters I love. I dream about my books. Is that weird?
Anyway, I'm rambling. Now why, you ask, is this post called Dream Big? Because I have big dreams. My dreams, I think, are bigger than most. There are plenty of people out there who want to write a book, or who want to become actresses, or do whatever it is they dream of. But along the way they lose sight of the dream and settle for something less. I won't settle. Being a full-time author is my dream. And, although you all will think I'm crazy, I really want to go to Korea. I want to travel the world and learn new things, visit new places, and gain experience.
Those are my dreams. What are yours? Just to finish off this post I want to put some of the quotes that keep me reaching for my dreams. I hope you guys keep reaching for yours too. :)
"All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them."
-Walt Disney
"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."
-Theodore Roosevelt
