YKnow what I mean

 What object tells the story of your life?  In the first four years of my music life, I never stuck to an instrument and easily gave up when things got too difficult or when I suddenly lost interest. At age 7, I quit the piano, just as I started learning how to play octaves. Struggling to stretch my short fingers across the keyboard one day, I exploded with frustration and called it the end of my piano career. A year later, I quit the violin for a similar reason--as I complained to my parents, my shoulders hurt too much. As a kid, I seriously lacked grit and consistency. Most of my pursuits rose and fell in a cycle: at first, I would get extremely passionate and work in bursts of intense enthusiasm, but once that initial flame settled, I would move on to the next thing that captivated me. When I started my third instrument, cello, in 5th grade, I was on fire: I was in love with the deep, rich sound of the instrument and spent hours playing it every day, sometimes without break...

  Have you ever felt embarrassed by someone that you love? (adapted from prompt 1) (Psssst I would love feedback on (1) how to make this shorter, (2) making this more cohesive/centered around a certain theme or lesson, (3) ways I could further explore different perspectives/make this essay more comprehensive) Growing up, I often compared my mom to other moms and felt embarrassed by all the ways that she seemed to be “lacking”. When we lived in our apartment in Korea, I spent much of my time in my friend’s home directly above ours, partly to hang out with her but largely because her mom, Ms. Eun, was my tutor.  As a young girl just opening her eyes to aesthetics through seeing celebrities on TV and reading interior decor magazines, entering Ms. Eun’s home reminded me of what I admired about her. There was a certain decorativeness and formality to the manner in which she neatly organized the slippers in the entry-way to a sliding door that led to the living room, how her sharpl...

Have you ever felt embarrassed by the things that you used to like?  (For those reading this: I know this is super long; I'm working on making this shorter and would appreciate comments on that matter) I used to (and still do) love eating meat. As a child, I necessitated it so much that I literally wouldn’t eat anything unless there was meat on the table. When I was around six or seven, my parents, my aunt, my cousins, and I went to a bibimbap restaurant. Traditionally, bibimbap comes with veggies, rice, fried egg, and red chili paste. Unfortunately, the bulgogi bibimbap (which includes sweet marinated beef as an additional topping) was out of stock. I refused to order anything.  While everyone else was getting started on their steaming bowls, I was hungry, didn’t see meat anywhere, and was about to cry. Eventually, a streak of tears trickled down my face, and when someone called this out, I exploded into tears.  As usual, my aunt reassured me and called over the manager....