“I Am a Libero” is an article about a Korean student who is currently in a dilemma. David C has to either choose to follow his parents’ hopes and dreams of him becoming a doctor, or to walk the path that is for his own happiness which is becoming a volleyball player. His family is basically an idealistic family that all Asian families would stereo-typically want to follow. David’s sisters “left home to attend two of the most prestigious universities in the world,” and his father is now a chief of nephrology at a hospital where twenty years ago he was a doctor. During his life, it was difficult for him to find what he enjoyed and was good at the same time. His sisters’ lives were already set, Kathy a lawyer and Jean an engineer, and he were to follow in their footsteps and become a doctor. However, his mindset on his future changed when he got into the varsity volleyball team. David wanted to become a volleyball player while his parents’ wanted him to be a doctor.

As a Korean student myself, I am able to connect with David. My parents, like David’s parents, dreamed of me becoming a doctor. I may not be going to college, but my parents had created my future. I am, according to them, going to go to Yale University then I’m going to become a doctor. Same goes for my brothers, our futures are already decided on. I honestly don’t know what I want to be when I grow up. It’s a frequently asked question that I am always confused with. I wonder if I should follow my parents’ dream for me, or if I should start to find my own path and ways for my future life. When people asked, I just casually replied with “Oh, I think becoming a doctor would be nice,” after that they would reply with the best colleges to go to for that profession, then how long I would have to study, and of course that my parents would be so proud of me. I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up, but I hope that someday I will find something that I enjoy doing.