“You are a college student!” my non-Taejae Korean friends would say to me. I roll my eyes. Again. They say,
“You are a college student! You are free! You don’t feel burdened anymore, you are a college student so you must be happy!”
I am sorry to say that my friends are living in a fantasy.
College is not a heaven although many Korean students think so because living a teenager's life in Korea is very difficult and burdensome. I know how stressful it is to spend a last year of high school in Korea. You have a big test ahead of you that determines your life. If you don’t do well on that test, you will fail to go to college. I acknowledge all of this, and I am fully aware that I feel much freer and lighter now than when I was in high school.
However, I have found that your life will not be easygoing and free of conflict even if you are a college student.
Life in Taejae is much busier than a typical Korean university.
Life in Taejae is much busier than a typical Korean university and honestly sometimes burdensome for me. I not only have pre and post readings to do, but I also work as a RA, write for this magazine, serve as a church student council president, and play and practice main/second keyboard in a band.
However, I want to read books, watch movies, and just talk with my friends and families as well. It often feels like life at Taejae does not allow much time for simply hanging out; but because of that, Taejae University is special and different from other typical universities. Taejae helps you to be prepared for your future life. (Not just for living abroad, but living independently.)
“Taejae helps you to be prepared for your future life. Not just for living abroad, but living independently.”
Despite this benefit, sometimes I feel so burdened and I am full of complaints. If I start to complain, I know I will be miserable and cannot do things properly. I want to live and overcome the challenges of Taejae life happily. So, I will share three tips that helped me to ‘survive’ Taejae life and enjoy it at the same time.