“Welcome to YG Family” was written on a card that came with a bouquet of flowers at your door. It’s so hard to believe that I got accepted as a background singer/trainee. A 17 year old girl from California who barely spoke any Korean worked toward her dream and now it is a reality. Ever since I was little, I have always dreamed of becoming a singer not for fame but to give hope to others and send out a good message. I’m so tired of hearing songs on the radio about money, girls and other material things. Someday I want my to music would reach out to everyone bringing hope, optimism and joy. Since I am only a background singer, I will have to work my way up. 

I grabbed the beautiful bouquet of flower and set them on the table of her new dorm that YG gave her. I live a floor below all the other YG artists like BigBang, 2NE1, Gummy, Se7en and Psy. The dorm was as big as a deluxe hotel room with two giant rooms, a kitchen, king size bathrooms and a living room that could fit around 30 people comfortably. This was way too much room for one person which made it seem more lonely. But working at YG, I would be too occupied with vocal lessons, concert rehearsals, dance lessons, meetings and school. 

As I walk through my new home, thoughts of home flood my brain. It was so difficult for me to leave but I couldn’t let this one in a lifetime opportunity go. In order to live my dream I had to leave her friends, sisters, brother, dad and the rest of my family. Before I moved  to Korea, I was living with at my grandparent’s house with my older sister, dad, two aunts, two uncles and three younger cousins. It was a full house with no privacy. There were people everywhere and all I wanted to do is be out with my cousins or locked up her room. It was the only places I truly  felt at peace. I would spend a lot of time at with my cousins, who were like siblings. My uncle treated me like his own daughter and gave me a fatherly figure because my real father doesn’t act like one. He would always be gone leaving me with her older sisters to fend for themselves. Meanwhile, my mom hasn’t been very involved in my life and is living happily with her husband and son. Even though she didn’t take care of me when i was younger, at least she is starting over and is taking care of her family over there and being a good mom to my little brother. I just pray that she doesn’t let him down the way that he has let me down. The only contact we have are annual birthday calls. Even though I didn’t have my parents to rely on, I had her two older sisters, Nicole and Hazel. They have been my rock and support system since forever and have managed to stick together to over come every single hardship they went through. As we got older, they each have started to do their own thing. Nicole works all day while Hazel is attending college at Stanford. I chose to be different and went towards my dream of being a singer. The support from my sisters and the passionate motivation I have in my heart towards doing what I love got me to this far.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed Hazels number. “Hello? Hazyyy!!!” I yelled satisfied to finally hear my sisters voice. “Hey! How was the flight? Did you get to your apartment safely? Have you gone to the YG Building yet? What is it like over there? DID YOU MEET BIGBANG YET?!” Hazel asked bombing me with her questions. “Whoa slow down! Haha The flight was hella long but I slept through half of it. I just got to my new “home” half an hour ago and I’m going to the YG building tonight after I settle down here. It’s definitely different” I say as I look out at the view from my window. Man I miss San Jose already… “No I have not. I’ll let you know when I do see them.” I assured. “Well I gotta go unpack and get ready for tonight. I’ll call you later.” “Alright take care Nana (She always called me Nana but my real name was Arianna). I LOOOVE YOU!” “I love you too! Study hard! Fighting!!!” I say with a smile while stuffing my phone back into my pocket. I let out a long sigh and head downstairs to get the rest of my stuff. 

When I get down the lobby I see a large pile of boxes and bags that have my name on it. Man, I shouldn’t have brought so much stuff. It’ll take me three trips to get all of my possessions. I start to load my cart to bring to the elevator but a group of guys catch my attention. They were all laughing together and greeted the door man with a bow and high five. I guess they live here too. I have no interest in who they are due to jet lag and my busy schedule. “Do you need help with that?” a familiar voice asks. As I look up, I see a man with combat boots, jeans, leather jacket with English written on it, sunglasses and a  mow hawk that is bleached at the ends. The english on his jacket distracted me because it’s the only English I’ve seen since I came to Korea. I was too busy reading his jacket to notice that all the boys who entered earlier were standing right in front of me. “Annyonghasaeyo!” They all say in unison like a boys choir. “Annyonghasaeyo” I say in my horrible Korean. My Korean is very bad and I’m sure they knew that I was a forginer just by my face. As they each introduce themselves, I start to get really dizzy and before I know it I black out. Man I knew I should have eaten breakfast this morning!