I encourage you to always keep up your skills and be proud of the languages you speak. For those of you who only speak one language so far, it's never too early to start learning! Ask some of your friends or classmates to teach you a few words in a language they know. Languages can be the most difficult things to learn, but they are so worth it. They teach you about other cultures and they teach you about yourself.
A second thing I've learned from living in South Korea is resilience. Even though I have lived in Korea a few times, it is always hard to leave my family and friends in the U.S. and build a life here. I've always had difficulty starting new things in my life. My first weeks of pre-school, kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, high school, and even college were all very hard for me. And it was the same when I came to live in Korea the first time. I didn't want to make new friends. I often thought about leaving and doing something else. I cried thinking about my friends and family. It felt like the hardest challenge I ever had. But as with all those other first weeks— kindergarten, middle school, college— I knew that it would get better. Even though it was difficult, I had to give it a chance. It took a few weeks, even a few months, but I gradually got used to life here. I found some great friends and went on amazing trips. I remembered why I came in the first place: to have exciting new experiences. I also felt stronger when facing new challenges. When you take a big step in life, you often have the urge to give up and go back to what feels comfortable. But those big steps are what make our greatest memories. Having resilience doesn't mean you need to ignore difficulties or pretend to be happy.
