Melanie Gonzalez
Though Jasmin Kim has found herself, she still discovers more of herself everyday and believes in finding more bits and pieces of becoming her full identity.
Students at Cardozo are filled with passions and goals for the present and future. However, in a world filled with trends, how can a student truly call themselves their own? Jasmin Kim knows how.
Kim, a junior at Cardozo, felt that she didn’t fit in, and did not feel like herself — so she changed her look. “I cut my hair because long hair never really felt like me,” she said.
To try something new, she decided to join sports as well. “I joined bowling, where I made new friends who helped me realize I don’t have to do big things and be ‘popular’ to enjoy life.” She also joined table tennis which taught her, “the joys of taking things slow and enjoying the small things.”
To find herself, Kim has been trying various methods, she chooses what she wants to wear without the care of others opinion “Because I started realizing, if I enjoy it, it really doesn’t matter,” Kim explained.
Kim considered herself to be an introverted person and followed what she calls “people norms.” However, to handle this she said, “I’ve been joining clubs and enjoying things I’d never have known if I stayed quiet.”
Her meaning of finding herself is as follows: “To me it means finally accepting things about yourself that other times you would hide about, and finally outwardly being yourself despite other people’s opinions”
The journey of finding herself has led Kim to change her style of life, “I’ve found the strength to cut people and move on from past relationships (platonic/romantic). I’m able to openly talk about things I like not caring about judgement. But at the same time, I haven’t truly found out who I am, because I’m everything. I want to be everything, anywhere because life is so overwhelming, but also so beautiful.”
Kim also expressed a piece of advice to her underclassmen, “Take things slow and enjoy the small things in life. If you get bad grades, no way does that define you as a person, but getting good grades also doesn’t make you a good person.”
“Join clubs, and sports, not for colleges, but for the relationships and friendships you make because they do make a difference,” she added. “And the biggest part, find who you are and what you’re comfortable with. You like something your friends don’t, do it. You wanna change styles? Do it. You have to let go of people because they’re not who you think they are, Let them go. It’s your life, you’re the main character.”
Though Jasmin Kim has found herself, she still discovers more of herself everyday and believes in finding more bits and pieces of becoming her full identity, for now though, everyday she works hard to be herself, in order to inspire others to do the same.