4 years ago, I was Harry Potter for Halloween. My costume was perfect. I had a black cape with a black wand. I even had a lightning drawn on my forehead! It was my first Halloween in America. I was still unfamiliar with English, and I wasn’t able to speak fluently. My mom’s friend offered us for a drive through her neighborhood so I could go trick – or – treating. When we stopped by the first house, I knocked on the bright green door. A lady opened with a smile. “Hi!” She said as she took out a handful of candy and stuffed it in my bag. “Hello,” I said as I did the sweetest smile that I could possibly manage. “So, what are you?” The lady questioned. She must have been expecting an answer like, “Oh, I’m Harry Potter!” but as I remind you again, I didn’t speak English very well back then. I frowned. I didn’t know what to say. I gathered all the confidence in my voice to say, “Hi. My name is Yena Yun. I am from Seoul, South Korea.” The lady smiled. I waited a few moments for her to say more, but when she didn’t, I ran away.

I don’t exactly know why I ran away from the lady at that time. Maybe because I was embarrassed when I realized my mistake. Or it might have been because I was embarrassed of my poor English. Either way, I was embarrassed of myself at that time even though I knew it would take me time to learn English. Now as I sit here typing an encyclopedia of my life in English after 5 years of living in America, I know, embarrassment is nothing compared to how proud I feel about myself.