The Surprising Power of “Winging It”

When I was asked to write a column, I made a bulleted list of things I have done in the past years, and I realized something: I have done so many different things that have nothing to do with each other. For your information, the list goes like this: studying abroad, Drama Club, Student Council, Valedictorian, Varsity Bowling Team, teaching English to elementary school students, modeling, indoor rock climbing, and so on.

When looking at the list you might ask, ‘Yeongjin, how did you do all these things?’ Well, as you have already guessed from the title, I winged it.

I have always liked to try out new things. That’s why I decided to study in the U.S. Until Middle School, I had no interest in studying abroad. All of a sudden, my friend said she decided to go to the U.S. Then I thought, ‘I want to go to the U.S., too.’ I started looking up different agencies and programs, and I came up with two promises to convince my parents: First, I’ll make at least one lifelong American friend. Second, I’ll graduate as a Valedictorian. I added that if I fail to keep the two promises, I’ll pay back 4-year-worth tuition to them.

At this point, you might be wondering if I kept the promises. To answer that question, yes, I did keep the two promises.

Another case of me winging things is modeling. I have never thought of becoming a model before. However, I changed my mind when I got a business card from one of the biggest model agencies in Korea, KPLUS. I signed up for a one-month modeling class off the cuff, and that was the most unique experience in my life.

Not everybody can try out modeling for fun, so I decided to take the opportunity without hesitation. While attending KPLUS modeling academy, I learned how to walk elegantly with 9cm heels, how to pose, took profile pictures, and lost 6kg in one month without serious side effects.

Based on my experience, I would like to tell everyone in their early twenties to try out new things. It is difficult to know what you want to do in the future if you don’t go out and try out new things. By doing so, you get to meet people of different backgrounds and figure out what you like and don’t like.

This might sound like a waste of time, especially in South Korea where everyone is busy making precise plans for their lives and building up qualifications for employment. I understand this concern, but hear me out.

Let’s say your phone battery is at 80%. One of the main purposes of a phone is to call someone. However, with 80% of your battery left, you probably wouldn’t care about saving your battery and enjoy doing many things on your phone, such as playing mobile games.

However, let’s say your battery is at 20%. Would you waste your battery by watching videos on YouTube? The answer is no. You’ll probably use your phone only when you HAVE to use it, such as calling someone or sending an urgent email.

You might ask me, ‘Yeongjin, where are you going with this metaphor?’ Let me explain. Life expectancy has increased significantly due to technical advancements. People talk about how humans will be able to live for 100 years on average.

Let’s go back to the battery metaphor. If you are 20 years old, you have used up 20% of your battery, which leaves you 80% of the battery. You don’t have to save your battery since you still have high battery percentage. I think early twenties is the perfect time to waste your bettery a little bit and try various things to find out what you enjoy and what you are good at. So, everyone, worry less about wasting time and let’s just wing it.