In this blog post, I’ll summarize my academic experiences and school activities during high school, examples of compassion, generosity, and collaboration, and the process of preparing for a career in nursing.
Writing about my academic experiences and reflections
While in high school, I worried a lot about my grades because my class ranking didn’t match my goals. I always wanted to be in the top five in my class, but in reality, I often fell outside the top ten. My obsession with rankings sometimes led me to feel competitive toward my friends. I realized that focusing solely on competition would strain my friendships and wouldn’t significantly help improve my grades, so I changed my mindset and shifted my approach to working together with my friends to raise our grades.
Our school had a system where each class’s overall grade average was compared to determine class rankings, with cash prizes awarded accordingly. The principal actively encouraged this system, fostering an atmosphere that promoted class unity, and I decided to use this system to collaborate with my classmates and transform our study environment.
Specifically, I created a section on the class bulletin board for recommending study guides and workbooks. I started by recommending workbooks myself and encouraged other classmates to share their own recommendations. Based on these recommendations, we organized group purchases, and I voluntarily took on the role of contacting the publishers directly to order the necessary quantities and distribute them to my classmates.
During exam periods, I posted relevant information—such as the exam scope and past exam questions from the previous year—on the bulletin board to encourage students to share what they knew, ensuring everyone benefited from this information. As a result, our class fostered an atmosphere where we supported each other’s learning and boosted one another’s motivation, while excessive competitiveness diminished. Personally, thanks to the positive class atmosphere, my rank improved to 5th, and our entire class ranked 2nd in the school, allowing us to share the prize money together.
Major School Activities and Reflections
During my freshman year of high school, I served as the Physical Education Club President and worked hard to actively lead PE classes. Since I’ve always enjoyed PE and tend to score well on practical tests, my friends would often ask me to teach them the skills, and my PE teacher also mentioned that my assistance was a great help in running the classes. I acted almost like an assistant teacher, making a point of helping classmates who were struggling.
My most frequent duty was assisting with the physical fitness test. Although individual scores for each event in the physical fitness test were not recorded separately, it was a crucial assessment that determined an overall fitness grade. The events included the hanging pull-up, long jump, push-ups, and sit-ups, and students had to meet the criteria for each grade to achieve a higher fitness level. I received a Grade 1 in most events except for flexibility; while I received a Grade 2 in flexibility, my total score allowed me to achieve a Grade 1 fitness level.
Since many of my friends were at a disadvantage because they didn’t fully understand the rules for each event or the grading criteria, I explained the rules and tips in detail. For example, for sit-ups, I explained that you had to touch your elbows to your knees for the rep to count, and during the actual test, I stood beside them and kept reminding them to bring their elbows to their ears and touch their knees, helping them improve their scores.
In the hanging endurance test—which my classmates found the most difficult—many asked me for tips since my personal best was consistently over three minutes. I advised them to do light arm exercises starting 30 minutes before the test, and I told them that applying flour or Vaseline to their palms would help them hold on longer in case their sweaty palms caused them to slip. Thanks to this advice, my classmates were able to hang on a little longer, and hearing their words of gratitude made me feel a deep sense of pride as the physical education club president.
Although I was particularly weak in flexibility exercises during PE, my classmates helped me by pressing down on my waist and assisting me in stretching my arms fully, which allowed me to achieve better results. My efforts helped my classmates, and their help allowed me to improve my own weaknesses, so I learned that when we work together, our combined efforts can lead to even better results.
Writing About Examples of Consideration, Sharing, and Cooperation, and My Reflections
Our school typically scheduled two hours per week for health classes, sex education, hygiene education, and safety education to ensure in-depth learning. Through these health classes, I was exposed to a great deal of medical and health knowledge I hadn’t known before, which made me realize the importance of healthcare services. As a future nursing major, I made a special effort to pay close attention to the lessons and my teacher’s advice.
One day, a professional hospice nurse was invited to give a lecture in our health class. Since I had always aspired to become a male nurse, my teacher, remembering this, kindly encouraged me to take advantage of this opportunity to gain as much information as possible. Through that lecture, I learned for the first time that there are specialized fields within nursing, and that hospice care is one of them.
According to the course material, hospice care involves caring for terminally ill patients and providing counseling to their families. As someone with a strong sense of service and responsibility, I was drawn to the nature of hospice work and became eager to learn more about the skills and mindset required for that profession.
As part of this course, our class staged a play in which we took on the roles of patients, family members, and counselors. I played the role of a counselor, acting out a scene where I shared in and empathized with the grief of the patient and their family. Even though it was just a play, I became so emotionally invested that I found myself in tears. Through this experience, I deeply realized how important it is to understand the feelings of those facing death and to offer comfort through conversation.
Efforts and Preparation Related to Motivation for Application and Career Plans
Having grown up in Busan, I have strong ties to the local community, and as I spent time near this university, I naturally developed a desire to study nursing here. I’ve had a spirit of service since I was young and have always enjoyed caring for those who are sick or suffering, which led me to dream of becoming a nurse. In particular, a lecture by a hospice nurse I encountered in a health class inspired me to pursue a career as a specialized hospice nurse.
Academically, I intend to focus intensively on palliative nursing. Since providing care that offers a comfortable and fulfilling life to terminally ill patients and their families requires not only medical knowledge but also family counseling skills, I plan to devote myself to learning counseling theories and techniques. I believe that in the field of counseling, theory alone is insufficient, so I must gain extensive hands-on experience.
I will make full use of internships and volunteer opportunities to gain meaningful practical experience and use this as a foundation to solidify my career path. Although awareness of hospice and palliative care is still limited in our society, I aim to grow as a professional in this field and contribute to improving public perception and providing care in the field.
