What do you think is something that makes you different from others, and makes you truly 'you'? This question might sound easy to answer at a glance, but once you think deeply about it, it's actually quite hard to give a satisfactory answer.
Growing up, I had the chance to experience living in two foreign countries. Obviously, being an Asian girl from South Korea, I was 'different' and I happened to stand out. The fact that I was different was the same in both countries. However, although I was different in both countries, the way I reacted to that difference was highly contrasting. Once, I feared being different was weird and I tried to conceal it by ignoring who I truly was. On the other hand, in my second experience, I was actually proud to be different, and it felt like my strength.
One striking thing that I learned from those two experiences was that how people reacted to differences relied on the extent to which they were exposed to differences. In a society where people experienced diverse cultures, they were more likely to accept and even more, enjoy the differences they could experience.
So I came to understand the importance of being exposed to diversity and started to contemplate possible ways to encourage diversity in our society.
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