A Holiday Beyond Home
As soon as the holidays began, Min packed a small bag and left for a church camp with her friend. Watching her prepare everything by herself, and receiving the occasional photo from camp, made me realise that she was growing little by little in the world beyond home. Yet her request for us to bring the things she had left behind, and the late-night phone call on her second night away with no particular reason, gave me the sweet reassurance that she was still a twelve-year-old who missed the comfort of her parents.
After returning from camp, Min was busy preparing for a dance competition with her school friends. Having joined the school’s K-pop dance team, she formed a group with four friends to enter the competition. With the event just around the corner, they met at school during the holidays and practised for hours at a time. After one practice, a friend came over to our house and unexpectedly ended up staying the night, so they happily enjoyed a surprise sleepover. There was something irresistibly sweet about the two twelve-year-old girls sitting side by side, completely absorbed in an episode of Bluey.
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Girls on Stage
The biggest event of Min’s holidays was taking part in K Beat National. She and four friends had been preparing for it since the previous term, choosing their song, practising together, and coordinating their outfits and props.
While waiting for their turn at the venue, Min was stung by a bee for the first time in her life. Despite the unexpected incident, she showed no sign of nerves and bravely completed the performance. She is naturally shy, and I had wondered how she would manage on stage, but there had been no need to worry. Dancing with a huge smile on her face, she sparkled beneath the stage lights.
Although they did not win a prize, the girls’ performance was so sweet and full of the charm of their age that we could not take our eyes off them. We cheered, and that night alone, we looked through the photos and replayed the videos again and again.
Min has another school performance coming up in November, and from the new term, she will attend a dance studio as well as continuing with the school dance team. May Min’s world, filled with piano music and dance, always be full of beautiful melodies.
한국어 요약
Min의 방학은 여기저기서 바쁘게 돌아갔다. 2박 3일의 교회 수련회, 학교에서의 댄스팀 연습, 그리고 처음으로 올라 본 대형 경연 무대까지! 오랜 준비 끝에 무대에 서는 기분 좋은 긴장감, 친구들과 함께 춤추며 터지는 웃음, 반짝이고 신나는 음악 같은 열두 살의 봄방학.
Yussi
Writer · Social work student, Massey University
A mother of three girls and a Korean immigrant making Mairangi Bay home — writing about starting school, home learning and everyday life on Auckland's North Shore.
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