Who Am I?

(The image above is nothing to do with this essay)

 I am is Joo-hyun Lee from South Korea, but instead of real name my roommates and professors in here call me E-Joo or LJ because 99% of foreigners cannot pronounce my name well. Since interested in languages, I majored in ‘English Interpretation and Translation’ and minored in Chinese at ‘Hankuk University of Foreign Studies’ in Korea. Although still struggling with speaking in faultless English and I cannot catch certain verbs time to time during the class in English, one of my dream job in the future is to become a English teacher in Korea or a Korean language teacher for foreigners. Thanks to my favorite English teacher in my high school, I could find various programs that I would carry out well and now I have only one year until I’d complete a course in teacher education in South Korea. As a matter of fact, I planned to study for the master’s degree in TESOL in Temple University one or two years later. For some reasons, however, I decided to experience various cultures and people in the US during my college student days. And I feel very lucky to be an international exchange student at Temple University.

  I’m especially studying more about linguistics and Second language education, also taking the most interesting class called ‘Hatha yoga’ at Temple University. And I’m expecting three main effects through this class: burning calories, mental health, and balanced posture.

Among them, most important thing is to correct my postures and spines in a calm and orderly way. I’m not exactly aware of the situation in the states, but almost all Korean students have one of their toughest years in life for three years prior to start University. During these years, and I also had very stressful but worthwhile days, heading my nose in a book and hunching over the desk always. That is the main reason why my back bones, pelvis, and neck bones are abnormally curved a bit. I tried expensive therapies in some clinics or learning yoga through internet blogs, but those were lost on me. Thus, I’d like to learn yoga in a right way this time, and I strongly believe every bone in my body will be as it should be.

Another main purpose for doing yoga class is to develop my muscles and control my weight as using all parts of my body. I’ve heard of Hot Yoga or just Yoga class but the word ‘Hatha.’ One of my friends who have taken a similar course before told me that union of Yin and Yang would be the closest in basic meaning for Hatha, and I will be able to lose more weight than I expect if I do as what my professor says. So, even after I finish this semester, I would keep practice positions for my nice body line.

 Lastly, I want to learn how to find the inner peace through yoga and meditation. In everyday life, it is really hard to have a quiet moment to let go of everything in my head and mind for at least 10 minutes. If I take some time for recharge myself even during the yoga class, that improves my concentration and I think I can start a day with clear mental health.

Overall, I am only a beginner, and not even used to names of yoga positions or body parts in English. However, I believe that regular practice of yoga would make a lot of positive effects for me and people around me.