Skip to 0:07 and stop to 7:49. When I gave this asterisk (*) you'll start the music. If I give two asterisks (**) repeat it one more time.

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I looked at the time of the big clock, hanging on the wall. It says that it's 3:15 in the afternoon. I was sitting in a comfy, navy blue bench, waiting for the boarding call. The airport as like a sea of faces moving in an unseen current, flowing like water to their destinations like a wide river down the aisles. Small groups would sometimes stop and cause a small eddy, but the others would flow around the outside and continue on their way. There were plasma screens of arrival and departure times on the wall of the airport. People were lined up at the check in desk with suitcases and baggage.

There was a sculpture of a whale with water cascading from its mouth and flowing down its tail flukes. In the background soft classical music played. In the arrivals lounge, there was a curious mixture of bored and excited people. Some looked like they were waiting for a bus, others like they were children waiting to get picked up by the school bus. Some lounged on the low comfy chairs and others bounced on their toes.

Who knew my journey would end soon? I walked with my luggage checking my passport once or twice. The steps that I took forward on those sleek silvery tiles of the airport terminal were trembling but I knew I had to move forward, leaving behind all the memories that had been attached to me - since my years in Los Angeles. All those around had their inner emotion portrayed on their faces.

Then I heard a female PA speaker calling,

"flight 1495 to Seoul, South Korea is now boarding."

I looked at my ticket and it said that from departing Los Angeles International Airport to Incheon International Aiport and flight 1495. I'm in. It was 3:30 in the afternoon. I stood up from the chair, walked towards a middle-aged lady and I gave my ticket to her.

"Have a nice trip." She smiled.

"Thank you." I smiled back.

I went to a small, gray hallway connecting to the plane's door. I got into the plane and there's both sides of paired seats, making a narrow aisle. I went on the right side, next to the airplane's window. I opened the overhead locker to secure my two white suitcases. Then, I sat on the seat next to window, so I could see the beautiful clouds when they'll prepare for takeoff. I'm curious about what the sky looks like when this plane goes up.

"Welcome aboard flight 1495 to Seoul." The flight attendant smiled, who was wearing a blue dress with a red bow.

"Thank you." I smiled.

"Are you excited to go to Korea?" She asked me and I chuckled.

"Yeah, but I'm nervous at the same time. I was born and raised in Seoul, then I moved to Los Angeles after graduation in high school, for studying medical classes." I told her.

"You're studying to become a doctor, aren't you?" She asked me and I nodded.

"Wow, so you're coming back home, you know spending time with your family there?" She asked me.

"Yeah, I miss them though." I spoke.

"Well, I wish you to have a nice time out there." She spoke.

"Thank you." I smiled and she walked away.

She is really a nice young woman, kind of like my age.

I opened the zipper of my silver purse, and picked my iPhone, connected by my pair of earphones. I closed the zipper in, and I looked out of the window. I was just seeing the horizon of grassy fields of Los Angeles. I turned my iPhone on, made my passcode and went into 'Settings' to turn on the 'Airplane Mode'. I turned it off and fastened my seat belt. About a half an hour later, nervousness consumes me when I heard the click of the seat belt and the pilot spoke,

"We are ready for takeoff."

The plane starts rolling and I feel gravity pushing me into my seat. My heart is races and my palms are sweaty. The hum of the engine roars so loudly that my ears start to burn. As the turbulence starts, I feel as though I am on a rollercoaster. It stops. On instinct, I look out the window to see the plane floating through white, fluffy clouds. I have survived, and I laughed of relief.

"Thank you, God." I whispered while laughed.

Minutes later, I turned my iPhone on and went to 'Settings' again to turn off the 'Airplane Mode'. I looked at the time above the screen, and it was 4:00 in the afternoon. I pressed the home button; went to the music app and began to find a song that fits for my relaxation and taking a nap. Something that I haven't heard it for a long time. I scrolled up hundreds of songs in my music app. Suddenly, I scrolled down again and saw the title of a song. It says, "Divenire" by Ludovico Einaudi. I haven't heard this song for five years. This piano track really touched me since the day I heard it for the first time. I've heard it since I saw a performance with the piano track at high school

I knew that title sounded Italian, and I wondered what that title means. I pressed the home button and went to Google Translate. It said that's from English to Korean. So I changed from English to Italian; I changed then from Korean to English. I typed the Italian word, "divenire" on the touchscreen keyboard and pressed the blue button "Go". Then, the English translation says, "to become". So I think that the title of that Italian track is "Becoming". Also, I realized that what I've told my UCLA friends before I left there.

"The only thing that I would like to tell you something is today, we're regular students. But for the future, we'll become the new generation to help people in need and let the countries share the love. That's my vision, trust me." My voice echoed in my thoughts and I smiled.

I went back to my music app, I touched my favorite piano track on the screen and I touched the repeat button just in case if the track ends. (*)The song begins with baby steps, outlining the five notes that comprise the melody: A, B, C, D, and E (G is the tonic or root of the atonal melody). Slowly the melody develops, adding speed, articulation, polyphony, and counterpoint.

By 2:45, the song peaks but settles down into a sort of nonchalant melancholy, while retaining most of the more mature musical attributes developed previously. A reflective interlude beginning at 4:08 is blended into the piece as if it was a finale. However, the previous fire found in the sound revives at 5:00. Although the melody continues to shine, the counterpoint is more subdued, controlled, and crisp. The most interesting point of the song though is that it ends abruptly, or perhaps it never ends at all.

(**)Then, it repeats the piano track while I kept listening. I put my iPhone in my purse and zipped halfway closed. Listening to the arithmetic beat of the bass feels me with warmth. It floods through my blood, almost changing the beat of my heart matching with its own. The music and I have our own language, we speak to each other without words. The headphones split us apart from the normality of the world. Here I travel alone.

For me, the song is a reminder that life is not a roller coaster, though it may seem like it at times. Life is not all about trying my best to reach the top, and then enjoying the ups, the downs, and the thrills on the way to the end. Instead, it is (or should be!) about becoming someone that I'm proud of. We all begin with baby steps, not knowing our way or how much we do not know about the world.

But, with each passing moment, we blossom; we learn about our strengths, recognize our weakness, and (if we are fortunate) continue to pursue our dreams. However, every once in a while, when we get rudely knocked off of the path of least resistance or encounter a life's milestone, I think it is important to (in the words of Rise Against!), "stop, take some time to think, figure out what is important to you... [and] make a serious decision."

Although I am twenty – some might call that old or others young – I can already feel the loss of my childhood that I cherished so much. I am no longer filled with boundless energy that allows me to recklessly sprint 500 meters to get to my next class; the enthusiasm to focus intently on every single task presented to me; or the naivety to say I want to win a Nobel Prize. By the principle of equivalent exchange, I gained the wisdom to recognize that life goes on, and yes, there are second chances! For me, this year was my second time applying to medical school, after being outright rejected from most schools.

I have wanted to become a doctor for most of my sentient life, and now I am closer to my dream than ever. I am very happy. Yet, I know that I will fall short somehow in the future, regardless if it is my fault or not. Even mountains get worn down by continually being battered by strong winds. However, by remaining true to and not giving up on myself, I will always be a winner not only to me, also my family and my friends.

I looked out on the window, seeing a valley of heavenly clouds. Then, I started to daydream about my friends, including my cousin at UCLA. I wondered what are they doing while I'm gone. I can imagine Han-yeol and Ivy practicing ballet dances; Nate and Taylor acting at rehearsals on stage and Anna Grace playing her piano, or doing graceful dances. To Seoul, I daydreamed about my brother and my sister-in-law (soon to be) working together for their love and helping people in the Haesung Hospital.

I looked at the clouds darkening and the music made me feel a little bit drowsy. I tried to keep my eyes open, I really did. But it was so hard, and I was so comfortable. Soon, that was all that I was aware of: The soft airplane seat underneath and behind me, the warmth of the airplane around me. My eyes began to drift closed. I was blissfully unaware of what was going on around me. Then it was just myself and my dreams.

Hours later, I felt like I was about to fly up on the ceiling. I opened my eyes and looked out on the window. We landed to Incheon International Airport. Seoul, we meet again. I smiled, hoping to see my family here. The airplane stopped and I stood up to open my overhead locker. I took my two white suitcases out, put it down the aisle. I pushed both buttons of the suitcases' handles and they went up, so I could carry it easily. I was about to walk out from the plane, but I saw the flight attendant speaking the pilot, then looked at me and smiled.

"Have a good day." I smiled.

"You too. Good luck at your home." She spoke.

"Thank you, bye." I smiled and walked out from the plane.

I walked in the gray hallway, following some foreign people to Incheon International Airport. I walked out from the gray hallway, entering and welcoming myself to Seoul. This airport is so huge that I could get lost easily. I walked with my two white suitcases in the airport's hallways. The airport looked more like a shopping mall than anything I had expected. The tiles under foot gleamed white and everywhere were people milling around. There were two glass elevators leading to an upper floor which had the appearance of a food mall.

In the middle of several large open areas were blue fabric covered seats. The air was cool and only the faint aroma coming down from the food area gave it any scent. Some stairs lead up to a viewing deck where eager children watched the airplanes take off and land. There were mounted telescopes for them to look through and the back wall was one large window. Behind the telescopes was a scale model of the airport with the runways marked on it.

Not knowing that I was on the second floor, I saw two escalators in front of me. In the left escalator, some people rose up like they're floating in air. On the right, others went down like they landed. I walked towards the right escalator, but the stairways went a long way down like nine feet above ground, I sighed deeply, willing to take the risk of it. The steps kept moving down; I lifted my right foot up, stepped and stood on the descending steps. I feel like I'm descending from the heavens to earth. Or maybe I am descended from the sun with my intelligence. Maybe. I kept staring down on the glassy, white and navy tiled floor. I saw a man smiling at me, standing three meters away in front of me. Who could it be?

I landed safely on the floor from the escalator. I stopped there because he was looking me. Until I heard him calling me,

"Chi-yun!"

It was my appa (Lee Soo-jong), and tears formed in my eyes. A wide grin formed on my mouth and I laughed.

"Appa!" I shouted.

I ran towards my dad as always. Those running steps reminds me of my childhood. As a little girl, I always run towards my dad when he came from work to home. He opened his arms wide to give me a hug. I left my two white suitcases right behind me, and my arms clutched him around him. However, I started to shed tears. His hand patted my back, the other rubbed gently my head. Tears kept running in my cheeks, I felt like I'm home again after years of living at United States.

"Appa, bogoshipo." I sniffled.

"Aigo, nado ttal." He chuckled and we broke apart.

"Welcome back." He smiled.

"Gamsahabnida." I smiled.

"How are you?" He asked me.

"I'm fine, thanks." I smiled and I gave him my large suitcase to carry it.

"It's been a long day to get there." I spoke while my appa and I started walking towards the exit of the airport.

"I know, but I'm glad that you came back." He spoke and we walked out from Incheon International Airport.

"Ne." I smiled.

My dad's blue Honda car was standing in front of us. He walked towards the car and opened the trunk. He put the large suitcase in it; I gave him the small suitcase to put in there also. I walked to the front passenger seat next to the driver's seat. I fastened my seat belt and my dad closed the trunk. He opened the door and sat on the driver's seat. I heard his car and house keys clinking; the car key made the engines start. I looked out from the car's window, looking at my people walking both ways inside the huge airport.

My dad drove away from the airport to the highway. He driver slouched indolently behind the wheel, his left elbow resting comfortably on the car window fingers steadying the wheel but not gripping it, tapping in time to the instrumental music on the radio. His right hand gripped the wheel at almost the top, but even that grip was relaxed, almost lazy. I looked out of the window again, watching the skyscrapers, towers and buildings illuminating the dark, night sky. The weirdest part is that I didn't feel tired. Was it that I slept on the airplane or did I ate too much sweet. I never had a sweet tooth; I think that I just slept nine hours in the airplane.

"You're feeling tired, Chi-yun?" Appa asked me and I shook my head.

"Really? It's 7 in the afternoon." He surprisingly spoke and I widened my eyes a little.

"Eomeo. I thought it was 3 in the morning." I spoke.

I'm pretty sure that appa tried not to crack up, but he chuckled.

"I guess you got used to know the Pacific Time in California, huh?" He asked me.

"Yeah. I think." I sarcastically laughed.

I can't believe that I totally forgot what time it is here in Seoul, and it irritates me internally. At Los Angeles, it's Wednesday, but here it's Thursday. Thank God that I didn't came that late.

"Appa, how's eomma? Is she all right?" I asked her.

"Yeah, she told me that she's preparing dinner for us tonight. But I'm afraid that we're going to be late, because from the airport to Seoul is one hour away." He spoke and I winced.

"How's oppa?" I asked.

"He and Eun-hee are doing fine in the Haesung Hospital. Poor things are going to work there all night, I'm sure he'll find some sleep." He spoke.

I deeply sighed. But something came on my mind.

"Appa, I was wondering that Chi-hoon will stay there at Haesung, I could make my surprise appearance to him, don't you think?" I asked him.

"Oh...that's a good idea. He doesn't know you just came here, right?" He spoke.

"Not until tomorrow. You have time to take me there tomorrow?" I asked.

"Sure, ttal. I'm sure he'll be very surprised and happy at the same time." He spoke.

I giggled with excitement.

"Awesome." I thought.

After an hour later, we arrived to downtown Seoul. We arrived to our family house near to the Haesung Hospital. I came out from the car, walking towards our house, expecting overjoys. Los Angeles is my second home but my heart belongs to Seoul.

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Korean romanization to English translation

Appa means "father" or "dad".

Appa, bogoshipo means "Dad, I missed you."

Gamsahabnida  means "Thank you."

Ne means "yeah/yes/yep".

Eomeo means "oh, my."

Eomma means "mother" or "mom".

Oppa means "older brother".

Ttal means "daughter".