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My Skewed Perception

When I was little I believed that some people were better at drawing because they had better motor skills. In reality, it has more to do with perception and brain functions: the ability to differentiate space, light, and shadows. Steady hands are a plus, but they are not required. An old art teacher once told me that I had a rare gift of seeing color. She said that I was better at differentiating and mixing color than some of her former colleagues, who were professional color mixers. (Yes, this profession existed before the advent of computers.) Now although I may not use this gift in every day life (dressing, makeup, etc), I often find myself staring at an interesting color and mixing it in my head. And I've given up describing...

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Musical Instruments

I've played the piano since I was 5, and the violin since I was 8. There was one year in elementary school when I decided to try the flute but it didn't come naturally easy to me as the piano and violin did, so I quit. Since then, I've played many different pianos and violins. But I was always sensitive to each instrument. Maybe overly sensitive - meaning I could never play as well on instruments to which I could not connect. With each new instrument, I would take at least a few minutes to get to "know" each other. I would test the responsiveness, the sound quality, the build quality. And the instruments would test my limits, challenging me to create and be creative. If I couldn't connect with...

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My Name

Growing up in Korea, I hated my given name, 효진 (Hyojin). I'm not sure exactly why, but it always felt a bit 촌스러워 (the closest definition I can think of is rustic, unrefined). In addition, the name itself was unusual. I was named by my grandfather, who combined two Chinese characters, 효도할 효 (孝 - filial piety), and 배풀 진 (陳 - fulfill, exhibit), to form the name...

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