Who am I?

2021. 5. 25

I wasn’t sure where to start, so I thought I’d begin with a simple introduction.

I’m 23 years old now—technically, you could say I’m unemployed.

When I was 19, I boarded a plane to Australia on the very day of my college entrance exam, chasing the long-time dream I had of becoming a chef. I enrolled in a two-year culinary school, and for the next two and a half years—short yet somehow long—I was busy just trying to keep up: adjusting to a new environment, working, and completing assignments. By the time I finally felt like I could breathe, I had already turned 22. That was just last year, 2020.

School, which had felt so tough at times, was suddenly nearing graduation. Luckily, I landed a job as a chef at a nice hotel, training in the kitchen and working mainly at the grill section, cooking steaks.

Just when I got to the point where I could tell how a steak was cooked simply by touching it, the pandemic began spreading across the world.

Back when China and Korea were topping the charts in daily COVID cases, my head chef reassured me that things would be fine. But soon enough, the virus reached Australia. I lost my job, and all my classes were suddenly canceled.

The Australian government introduced strict quarantine rules—except for essential activities like shopping, work, or exercise, we weren’t allowed to leave the house.

I spent about a month jobless, stuck at home. To make things worse, I went through a rough breakup, and my self-esteem hit rock bottom. I couldn’t even look in the mirror for a while.

One day, I suddenly realized just how drained I was—mentally and emotionally. I felt like if I stayed in that state any longer, I’d fall apart completely. Without much thought, I booked a ticket to Korea.

At first, I planned to stay for only three months. But then Australia closed its borders to everyone except its own citizens, and I ended up stuck in Korea for over a year.

During that year, something changed.I started reading books, even though I used to hate them.I started saving money.I started thinking—really thinking.

I studied subjects I’d always wanted to learn, picked up new hobbies, and managed to save 10 million won just through part-time jobs.

I knew that if I just sat around waiting to return to Australia, I’d lose all motivation. So I kept myself as busy as I could.

Gradually, my self-esteem came back, and I became stronger than before. These days, I feel proud of the person I’ve grown into.

Still, every night, I couldn’t help but worry—when would I be able to go back to Australia? What would I do for a living? The uncertainty kept me up.

Then, out of nowhere, an opportunity came. My dad’s old diesel car had to be scrapped because it was classified as an environmental hazard. That meant he needed a new car—so, for a while, the old one became mine.

I didn’t waste the chance. That very moment, I decided to start a car camping trip. I wanted to escape, even just for a little while, from the chaos of the world.

And so, with no plans and no destination in mind, I left home.