This school year, I was given the opportunity to construct a letter to myself in which I read 10 years later (so 2026 for those of you who are mathematically challenged). As the Editor-in-Chief this year, much of my time has been spent on the construction and content of this very website. I thought it would be really interesting to be able to come back to these roots and have a virtual copy of what I depicted life would be like. So, without further ado, I present the very naiive perspective of my teenage self. I promise I have not and will not read the following words until the time is up. I hope to return to a very successful and thriving Centreville Sentinel ten years from now to read these words with the rest of you:

Dear Ms. Ritchey:

My name is Christy Kim and I am a senior at Centreville High School. I have five family members in total. My dad is a computer engineer, my mom is a stay-at-home mom, my older sister is a junior at University of Virginia, and my younger sister is a freshman. My parents were both born and raised in South Korea and immigrated to the USA 20 years ago. My sisters and I were all born here in the United States and are all dual citizens. As for pets, I have had several throughout my life: bunnies, turtles, dogs, cats, water snails, frogs, etc. However, I currently do not own any. One family memory that particularly stands out to me is the trip we took after my older sister graduated. We took a road trip down to a small town called Amasra, which is located in Turkey, and the scenery was beautiful. The area was covered in lush, green mountains and was encircled in clear, crystal blue water. The time that my family spent together in one car together proved to be a very effective and memorable bonding experience. I am both proud and thankful for their decision to come to an unknown country for both my dad’s graduate school and for my sister’s and my education. However, my parents and I go through our rough patches as they tend to put a lot of emphasis on my academic life, which can get stressful at times.  One interesting thing about my family background is that my father is half North Korean and my grandfather is North Korean born and raised. Hearing about my grandfather’s childhood experiences as well as his escape to South Korea has been heartbreaking, intriguing, and also very honorable.

As for my interests, I am a soccer enthusiast as well as a lover of all things English-related. I was the soccer captain of the varsity team at my old school and I also participated in several theatrical performances and was an active leader in my youth group. In my spare time, I babysit and actively participate in several community service outreach projects. My favorite hobbies are sleeping, reading, journaling, and binge-watching a lot of Netflix and other TV shows. Speaking of TV shows, some of my all-time favorites are Grey’s Anatomy, the Flash, One Tree Hill, and Modern Family. My favorite book of all time would probably be the Giver by Lois Lowry because dystopian/utopian concepts fascinate me. Something that I am proud of about myself is my determination. If I have a goal in mind, I go after it with everything that I have. For instance, ever since I was three, my lifelong dream was to become a journalist and I have worked hard and now I am the editor-in-chief of the journalism staff here at Centreville. However, my personal flaw would be my stubbornness. I tend to hold firm to my beliefs or the way I think things should be done. I have a lot of passion for service projects in third world countries

As an experienced traveler of over 40 countries, I have had several incredible experiences. During my sophomore year, I had the opportunity to go to Wales on a mission trip with my youth group and we did a lot of outreach to the small town communities. We organized sports events as a way to gather the people as well as door-to-door helping services. In our spare time, we did a lot of sight seeing and got to jump off of waterfalls. Another exciting experience was my trip to Paris, France. The food was incredible, the language and the culture was so elegant, and the Eiffel Tower lit up at night was something else. I also partook in several community service projects during my time in Turkey, one of which was a refugee program. Turkey shelters a lot of refugees from Syria, Iran, and other Middle Eastern countries who go through turmoil and I would volunteer foods and goods to a program linked to my church. On Fridays, I would play with the refugee children and also help bag and distribute food. It was both a life changing and eye opening experience as it taught me to appreciate the things I have and also to have a broader perspective on the problems that exist right before my very eyes.

In the future, I want to be either a journalist or a dermatologist but I am still unsure of my major. My dream school would be Northwestern University in Chicago or Vanderbilt University in Tennessee. Ten goals that I hope to accomplish in the next 10-15 years would be the following: 1. Graduate from college. 2. Go to graduate school. 3. Start my career/get a job. 4. Travel to more countries. 5. Go to the World Cup that will occur in 2018 in Russia. 6. Attend my high school reunion in Turkey. 7. Meet someone. 8. Get married. 9. Have my own home. 10. Look back and have no regrets. And I would like to continue to live each day to the fullest in the future because if I have learned anything, it is that life is too precious to waste even a second.

Sincerely,
Christy Kim