To reflect on my 2015 in detail would require an anthology; however, I feel obligated to leave even a brief summary of the year, an emotional roller coaster ride to say the least. In spite of my belief Jesus had a plan for me in the United States upon my graduation from Emory University in May 2014, the longevity of my struggle of finding a company or an institution willing to sponsor me for H-1B to legally work in the country appeared to exceed the maturity of my faith at the point could handle. For the first half of 2015, I grew more and more anxious by day, and my complaining to my Father, especially at night when emotions are heightened, became more and more intense. I felt the need to desperately travel to a nature-driven location where praising God could come to me more naturally, which turned out to be the turning point of this adversity. At peace and in awe of His creation of magnificent Iceland, I repented of all I had expressed to Him in frustration over the previous several months and opened my heart to what He wanted in my life instead of what my human heart desired. My Father within days of this awakening presented me with a global entrepreneurial position, consisting of all I sought and hoped to do upon college graduation, in the Midwest. This reminded me, “Always be grateful for what I have. His plans are greater than mine. He is timeless; His time and my time do not always match.”

Presenting to Korean high-school students on UNK

With the first half of the year solely focused on the two nonprofit internships for which I worked thirty hours a week on average, I, goal-oriented workaholic, needed to find a new arduous objective to fulfill so that I could stop thinking I was wasting my life away while most of my classmates had already begun their careers and/or graduate school. The goal became physical, as I constantly challenged myself in long-distance running, what I despised more than anything until roughly four years ago, to see how far my body and mental toughness could carry me. This led to my training for and running a 15K, half marathon, marathon, 50K, and 50-miler, all in 2015, which would have been unlikely with a full-time job. Through these races, especially the 50-miler, I experienced God in ways I could not have imagined, and I have no regrets in my body having suffered and even been injured along the journey.

As grateful as I have been to God for my creative comeback story of 2015 He wrote, I firmly believe the Author of my life has greater plans for me in 2016. I am honored to be starring in the 2016 Book of Jake Kim as the protagonist, and I cannot wait to witness firsthand how the story of the titular character unfolds.