I Can’t Live Without Taekwondo
Imagine this: You are a 15 year old sophomore in high school. You are sitting in the middle of a dojo leading stretching while a bunch of tiny, twinkling eyes are staring back into yours. As you continue to do the stretching, you start to question yourself: what are you really there for. Is it because of the amazing things that your friends said about this place? Or is it because you want to focus on a certain type of skill you don’t have?

I cannot live without taekwondo.

For me, a major part of why I take taekwondo is to focus on my teaching skills, which I have some experience with already. Whenever I go to taekwondo, I go about three days per week. Only one of the three days I attend taekwondo to help children who are attending taekwondo classes. Each of these classes are half an hour each and I teach kids from three to six year olds. The first half hour is for the five and six year olds. The very last half hour is for the three and four year olds. Just something about the way the small children’s laughter and giggles fill the air in the small dojo reminds me of childlike wonder and of childhood itself.

I feel as if I'm nobody without it in my life. Maybe I’d be an empty canvas just waiting to be painted on. Maybe I’d be a void of infinite curiosity, where everyday is a fun adventure in learning and exploration. My thirst for new knowledge would drive me to seek answers to the questions I would ask myself everyday without it in my life.

Taekwondo has shaped me into the person I am today; my whole personality. I am someone who is serious about my mental and physical health. I am someone who finds joy in helping others. I am someone who thrives on new challenges and seeks out new experiences. Some of these new challenges and new experiences can include leading a class without any help from other instructors or doing 50 pushups as a part of my belt testing.