Back to Nature- Ansuk Lim

Imagine your life if you were “Jane” in the movie “Tarzan” or on a deserted island. I used to live the countryside just like that. There was only one neighbor and no stores near my house. At the end of 1980s, Korea had been developing rapidly. In the city, the sky was getting narrow because of the skyscrapers, and there were many new chances to find a better job. Thus, many people moved downtown to get a higher salary. My father also wanted to make money for the future. However, unlike others, he decided to move to the countryside to cultivate mushrooms using a cave. The cave offered humidity and proper temperature throughout the year. It brought us a good environment to cultivate the mushrooms. Besides, with all of those benefits from nature, I became Jane just like in the movie. Moving to the countryside and living in nature had changed everything, not only the circumstances but my personality as well.

First, living in nature inspired me to choose biology as a major. We only had one neighbor except for the nature. My family lived in the middle of a mountain. There was a cave and a gorge. Actually, I enjoyed being in nature. Every organism was my friend, and the nature surrounding me was my personal playground. I used to climb trees and taste almost all kinds of flowers. I had also seen many wild animals that people who live in a city never get to see except in a zoo. All of those things were enough to attract my attention. I became interested in the nature and it affected to my decision to study biology. Even though I was a little child, I explored the nature and started studying it. I loved finding out the plants’ names. I chose biology as my major, and I plan to keep studying it in the future.


Second, living in the countryside also separated me from my family. Since I was in middle school, I have lived apart from my family. It has been almost half of my life. Commuting to school from the mountain took so long. In order to go to school, I had to walk for an hour and half. Even though I used ride a bicycle after fourth grade, it still took around fifty minutes. There was one hill and one mountain to go over. In addition, the Korean education system rendered me hard to stay with my family. Although I was in middle school, I had to stay at school until 6 o’clock. During the winter, it was dark outside and not safe enough to commute alone, so my parents decided to send me to my uncle’s house in the city. I lived with my uncle’s family for three years. In addition, the high school had stricter roles for the extra classes, so I had to stay at school at least 10 o’clock. As a result, I couldn’t move into my parents’ house, so I have been living apart from my family for fourteen years since that time.

Lastly, my personality was influenced by the change of life style. I became a daring person. I didn’t have fear being alone in the middle of a mountain. For example, I was always surrounded by nature. There were no harmful animals. There was nothing to worry about in the nature except for humans. In addition, independence and introspectiveness were formed by living apart from my parents. As I mentioned, when I was thirteen years old, I moved into my uncle’s house because of my commute to school. I wanted and needed affection from my parents. However, I knew it was the best choice my parents could make for me. I spent a lot of time alone in my room. Moreover, the radio and books became my friends, and I became introspective. It was just the beginning living apart from my family. I used to live a dorm in high school, and I have lived alone until now after graduating from the high school. I had to take care of myself. This unique experience has made me get lonely easily, but I have become an independent person.


In conclusion, living in nature not only influenced my major, but also changed my personality and living pattern. I had lived there only for six years, but I changed a lot. If I had not been there or learned about nature, I would not have chosen my major, biology. Moreover, if I had lived with my parents, I might have become a different kind of person. Also, I might still be with my family until now, and not in the U.S. Sometimes, living in nature reminds me of sad and lonely memories, even miserable one. However, ironically, there are also peaceful and joyful memories in my mind. Sometimes, I feel nostalgia for that time and would want to go back to those days living on the mountain.