For Mari Lee, growing up under the care of a single mother was never a disadvantage. Her mother, Misun was supportive and loving her whole life. She was a strict woman who could be a little too conservative at times, but she always looked out for what was best when it came to her daughter.

Throughout high school, Mari’s life was controlled by K-pop. She spent more time being updated with live performances, variety shows, and new music videos than studying. This displeased Misun who thought that watching K-pop idols was a total waste of time for a teenager who was at the important stage of her life. However, Mari couldn’t help it. She loved music and she often spent her free time playing her guitar and singing in her room even if no one could hear her. Inspired by watching her favorite idols, she wanted to try auditioning. Unfortunately, her mother wouldn’t let her.

Eventually, Mari became convinced from her mother’s constant lectures that the music industry was something that she could never get involved with. Overall, Mari was an introvert. Although she was outgoing when she was with her friends, she didn’t have the social personality or the confidence that people like celebrities had. Maybe her mother was right. Agreeing with her words, Mari gave up her dream during her last year of high school and found herself in California attending UCLA. Although going into the medical field wasn’t what she wanted, she promised her mom that that's what she would do. After all, her mother was paying her college tuitions for her. She really had no choice in what she wanted to pursue unless she wanted to get herself a job and pay her own pills. Many of her friends were forced to balance their time between studying and working, which most of them were good at. However, Mari didn’t know if she would be able to maintain her grades doing the same things as them. After all, she had been better at studying K-pop compared to school related subjects.

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