Yuri's Digital Portfolio

           I am Momoka Kim, 17 years old. Momoka means fragrance of peach blossoms. After the long snowy winter, people would see the peach blossom and sense the fragrance. When people would see peach blossom after the long winter, they will know spring has came.  I am living in the small country, Japan, far north from the capital city.

         

           Sapporo is a city I was born and grow up. Since kindergarten to seventh grade, I lived in the small community in Hokkaido, Hokkaido International School. Surrounded by almost the same friends, same people, growing up together. There are almost the same as myself; their behavior is almost the same what they will do. For instance, if there is a new person, we are majority and minority. We surround the person and everybody starts talking to the person. In this condition, no need to get nerves, no need to worried, if the person will like me or not. I was always happy, just like protected by the shield, small community.  My life was fine. However, I was like a little rabbit in the deep snow, nobody can see me, nobody knows where I am. I want to appear myself in this small community. I jumped and jumped, but my footstep sounds erased by the soft snow. I am an invisible existence. No friend in the winter filed. Nobody knows where I am going, and I don’t know where I am going either.

         

            I started to feel uncomfortable by the surrounded small community when I was seventh grade. I eagered to have wider perspective. I move to a Japanese school one year. With an asian face, Japanese name, I had no trouble at school. Year by year, I started think about my future. With my dream to be a beautician, talking with many people and giving them beauty and comfort. I will see many people, different races, different ages, different backgrounds, as a customer. I started worried about that I need to see more people and experience more.  I pushed myself into “much wider environment” where we can see many different races, disparity of wealth.

 

          I transferred  the school to Canada own my own and pushed myself stayed with host family. In Canada, I became a target of discrimination at school. First year, I survived with no friend at all.  Because I was a little snow white rabbit in the snow filed, shy, introverted, and couldn’t communicate with others at all. I was sad and lonely, felt very cold in Canada where I knew nobody, nobody knew me. I did not talk to anybody.  I did not listen to anybody. I became aware of that I am the person who owns very popular hair salon, people keep coming not only to have nice hair done, but also have me there life partner to share their life stories. Behaving "most popular and warmest hear salon owner and in the popular magazine", I became good listener and good speaker. I became popular in the school that made me fruitful school life in Canada.  I could overcome my weakness by creating my dream. I focused myself in the future and behave as how my self in the future . This step makes me to conquer my mental and body habit i used to do just like a little white rabbit in the field.

           

          "Momoka", my name means peach blossom fragrance, people notice me by my fragrance, atmosphere without noticing me. Then, They find my real existence, peach  blossom, pink petal, soft and warm flower.  It makes people comfort, warm and happy when they found it in the cold white show. Spring has come for them. My experiences past 17 years and from now on, I know how to deal with big wall that stands in front of me.