“Mom, why is my name Bori? Kids in my school tease me. They say that I’m a plant and keep saying barley," complained an 8 year old girl. In Korean barley is pronounced as "Bo Ri.”
“It is because they don’t know the meaning Bori. Bori means a very good thing in Buddhism. It means that the person finds enlightenment through practicing asceticism,” said the mom trying to cheer up the girl.
I was young, spoiled, greedy, and full of self-confidence back then. But as I grew up I began to realize that my name wasn’t as terrible as I thought.
Being beneficial to people near me and helping people who need help: This is the thing that every grown up would emphasize to me, since it is the meaning my name has.
I mean, who wouldn’t? Think about it. If you go to school, you hear your teacher explaining the meaning of your name. If you go to your neighbor, you hear them commenting about your name.
"Why does every grown up emphasize being nice to people? I don’t get it! Why do I need to listen to these things? I hate my name!"
Not because I felt worthwhile doing it, just because I didn’t want to hear nagging from others about myself and my name, I did volunteer work. I know it is wrong to do volunteer work because of the fact that I didn’t want to hear nagging, but I did it for that reason anyway.
My dad always went abroad to Chile for one month every year for volunteer work. Obviously, I went with him not because I wanted to, but because I just wanted to get away from all those things that grown-ups would say about my name. The work I did in Chile was caring for children who have lost their parents through disasters or diseases.
I went abroad for a couple of years, and got to know a few people over there. There was this girl who was older than me who I got close with while I was playing with the children.
It was about the fourth time I went to Chile, when I found myself changing.
“Hey, you came again! Wow, it’s been such a long time!” said the girl.
“I know! I'm ready to do it. Is there anything I can do to help?” I replied.
“What?” She was surprised and her eyes widened.
“I’m so interested to do this! Did I say something wrong?”
“No, it just seemed that you changed. You didn’t seem to like playing with these kids when you first came here, but now you just love to play with them. Look! There are lots of kids who like you a lot here, do you know that?”
This was the moment that my thought about my name changed completely. Since then, I've tried to live up to my name and the meaning my name has. From then on, grown-ups didn’t scold or nag me anymore. But I still liked to volunteer and help others. It became a part of my nature; trying to help others and volunteering. No one told me to do it, but I just enjoyed and felt worthwhile while I was working more and more. From that moment, things about me changed a lot. I began to help others around me and learn to respect others and be less greedy. I thought more positively about things that happened to me, instead of being so depressed by things. I started to listen carefully to everyone, even if it was nagging and scolding. I tried to change and live by my name; being beneficial to people near me and helping those in need. I think that I have been living by my name and due to my name I have changed a lot. And I do mean – a lot.
Yesterday as I was taking the elevator down, a teacher asked me: "Your name is Bori, as in the Buddhism?”
“Yes! Do you know what it means?”I asked him.
“Well, doesn’t it have something to do with helping others?”
“Yes, it means being beneficial and helpful to other people. And I like my name very much!”
I said this proudly beaming a large smile at him.
Bori - I think I forgot to mention that if I don't include some sentences in my revisions - that means it's fine and you don't have to change anything. In your intro there seems to be some stuff missing that was perfectly fine. Sorry for not making that clear.
답글삭제Excellent work as always, but definitely include the stuff I didn't adjust.: ) Have a nice weekend.